Fleur and Hermione and the other 7 'Horcruxes'
by WetOtterSoks
Summary: Fleur and Hermione are thrown together much to each others distaste, but they have a mission to complete and its not going to be easy! FD/HG eventually Rated M for violence/language/bad comedy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: You are not Prepared

"Have a biscuit, Granger," Professor Minerva McGonagall shot at Hermione as she sat fidgeting in her seat looking nervous. "And don't look so worried, this is nothing to do with your recent essay titled 'Under the Veela's Thumb: A Concise Argument for the Extermination of the Veela Race on Account of their Misuse of Mind Control'. I rather enjoyed it, though I can see why Professor Binns has his robes in a twist over it!"

Hermione looked even more uncomfortable. Professor McGonagall sighed, rolled up the parchment she had been marking and studied Hermione over the rim of her spectacles.

"Miss Granger," she began, "Have you failed to turn in some homework?"

Hermione looked taken aback. "No, Professor!" she exclaimed resolutely,

"Is there some deed that you have committed which makes you believe you have been summoned to your head of house for a punishment that you deserved far more than the other culprits, say Mr Potter or Mr Weasley?"

Hermione looked at Professor McGonagall as she shook her head, wondering if this was a trap. Professor McGonagall's face softened, though only very slightly.

"Miss Granger, I have brought you here to discuss a mission for the Order. One I wholeheartedly disagree with, I might add." For a second, the Professors face contorted from sour to pity before she wrestled it back to neutral. Only her eyes betrayed her agitation. "However, we must wait for another member of the Order before I can explain fully what will be expected of you."

Hermione nodded and sat quietly, looking anywhere but at Professor McGonagall, who was openly staring at her as though studying her closely. Finally, the Professor broke the silence, "Miss Granger, I... I will be here for you throughout the year, in spite of the meddling of Dolores Umbridge, But I do not need to impress upon you the importance of keeping this mission hidden from all others. Now, that said, I want you to know that you may at any point approach me and say enough is enough and I will see to it that you are removed from the mission. I don't mean to upset you Miss Granger, but I know that this will be difficult for you indeed."

At this Hermione looked up at the Professor in puzzlement. The older woman was clearly experiencing some inner turmoil. "Thank you Professor, I am prepared for any task the Order sends my way," she replied. Minerva studied the young girl (who by muggle standards was in adulthood and that was apparently good enough for Dumbledore) and saw so much of herself in Hermione., She permitted her mind to wander for a moment. How would she have felt if at 16 years old the Order had bestowed such a task on her? At the very thought of it Minerva McGonagall's face reddened. _Yes, highly embarrassed. That's about right_, she thought to herself as she brought herself back to the student sitting in front of her.

"Hermione," she spoke softly, using the young girl's first name in an attempt to put her at ease, "I do not doubt your academic ability. You are as I have always stated, one of the brightest young witches these many years have seen. But if there is one thing of which I am certain, it is that you are most certainly not prepared for this task." Hermione's eyes widened and she glared at the Professor as though trying to determine exactly what the Head of House meant. She was met by a sad expression, and knew at once that she needed to prepare herself for some outrageous task. Perhaps she was being moved to Slytherin house to spy; that would be awful but doable. Perhaps she was going to be removed from school so that she could complete some research for the Order? Being separated from her friends would be almost unbearable, yet Hermione knew that she would shoulder any burden for the greater good.

As though Minerva could read the thoughts passing through Hermione's mind, she sighed and in a hushed voice, as if whispering would soften the blow of the words, she again stated "You are not prepared."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Better the Veela You Know**

As Hermione took a bite of the piece of shortbread she had selected from the biscuit tin Professor McGonagall had offered, the room began to glow green as the flames in the fireplace changed from burning orange to a shimmering emerald.

Hermione and the Professor turned their attention to the fireplace as a tall willowy form appeared to glide gracefully out of the flames. For a second Hermione's eyes widened as she examined the appearance of this third person into the study, a slender young woman with long golden blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, who appeared to be taking in her surroundings with some disdain.

Professor McGonagall rose swiftly from her seat and offered a hand to the figure whose appearance almost seemed to brighten the room, "Miss Delacour, Thank you for joining us at such short notice" she said crisply.

"Eet is no problem. Bill has explained to me the situation in part, I am 'appy to 'elp." Fleur replied in much improved (although still rather choppy) English.

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath "Of course. Phlegm arrives by Flu." She was already putting pieces of the puzzle together and knew that whatever this mission was she would no doubt have to work alongside the blunt spoken French woman. She did not relish the thought. Hermione blushed as Professor McGonagall threw her a sideways glance that had all the subtle warning of a fist to the face. Perhaps her comment had been a little louder than she had intended, although the French woman had luckily not heard.

Fleur perched on the edge of a seat next to Hermione and the Professor waved a biscuit tin at her "Have a biscuit, Miss Delacour," she offered. Fleur, looking very much like she would rather eat a live flobberworm, peered into the box with distaste and reluctantly selected a small broken piece of shortbread.

Professor McGonagall poured 3 glasses of Firewhiskey and placed one in front of each of the young women sitting at her desk. Picking up her own glass, which was a little more than three fingers, she took a delicate sip, surveyed the room and then appearing to think better of her previous action, downed the remainder of the contents of her glass in one gulp.

Hermione, somewhat startled at this display, placed her own glass of firewhiskey on the desk and cleared her throat. "Professor McGonagall, can you tell us a little bit about the mission now?" she asked tentatively.

The Professor wore a thin smile which did not reach her eyes. "Miss Granger, Miss Delacour, these are dark times, dark times indeed. I am sure that you do not need me to tell you that Mr Potter is working with Professor Dumbledore on a delicate mission to defeat he-who-shall-not-be-named once and for all. Unfortunately Professor Dumbledore has come upon a...wrinkle that, if not attended to will mean that Mr Potter's efforts will all be for nought. Now I know I don't need to tell you the importance of discretion, ladies, but I must remind you of the seriousness of the matters at hand and how damaging it could be if details were to be released. Therefore I must impress upon you that nothing in relation to this meeting and subsequent mission can be shared with anyone outside of this room without my express permission. Is that clear?" The air of authority in the Professor's voice sent shivers down Hermione's spine as she glanced at the French woman beside her and they both responded to her words in unison, "Of course, Professor."

Professor McGonagall studied both of them over the rim of her glasses and continued the briefing. "To be clear, Miss Granger, that means keeping this a secret from Mr Potter and Mr Weasley. Goodness knows those two have enough on their plate already!" she clarified and Hermione nodded in response as she sipped from her glass, searching for the same sort of mysterious comfort that Professor McGonagall had seemed to receive from hers. The Professor continued. "And Miss Delacour, you may not share these details - not even with William Weasley - as much as you may wish to do so." Fleur wrinkled her face at this before nodding her agreement to the wise old witch in front of her.

Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied with the responses and poured herself another generous helping of firewhiskey as she thought how little she relished the task ahead for them. "In short, ladies, you both must set aside your differences and prejudices and find a way to get along. In the very near future you will be dependent on only each other at times, if for nothing else then for support and understanding."

The Professor began by explaining to Fleur about the Horcruxes that Harry and Professor Dumbledore were hunting while Hermione sat quietly, fighting her racing mind to stay present in the conversation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Horcruxes and Whorecruxes**

The door to the study clicked open quietly and Madame Hooch strode into the room, taking a seat in the background so as not to interrupt her colleague mid flow. Hermione registered the entrance of Madame Hooch with a slight nod of her head, noting that she was pouring a large amount of firewhiskey into a glass. Either all her teachers had a drinking problem or this mission required more than the usual amount of danger. Neither idea was particularly welcome.

"However, we are not here to discuss Horcruxes, that is Mr Potter's burden to bear," the Professor continued, as she explained to Fleur about Harry and Dumbledores' most recent mission. "We are here to discus Whorecruxes." Minerva let the statement hang in the air as she took another sip from her glass.

Fleur arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow and addressed Professor McGonagall. "I thought you just said that we were not 'ere to discuss 'orcruxes?" Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to face the French woman.

"Not HORcruxes, WHOREcruxes honestly I thought you were working with Gringotts to improve your 'Eenglish'!" Her comment had a little more sting than she had intended it to have but ignoring this she turned expectantly to Professor McGonagall."Please continue Professor." Fleur bristled at Hermione's comment and forcefully putting her glass on the desk she turned to the younger witch.

"'Ow dare you! You are just a leetle girl and do not even 'ave the manners to discuss this very serious matter without acting like a, 'ow you say, spoiled brat!" Fleur spat.

Before an indignant Hermione could respond, she felt a heavy calloused hand drop on her shoulder. Madam Hooch stood between her and Fleur, keeping both of them in their chairs. "There are bigger things hanging in the balance at this time than your egos. Hermione, I know that Minerva has already asked you to put your petty squabbles aside and work together but I am afraid I must insist you do this at once or choose to leave this study immediately and never look back." Feeling scolded for the first time in her life, Hermione turned a deep shade of red, muttered an apology to the room in general and began to study her hands in her lap. Madame Hooch sighed "Don't do it for me Granger, and don't do it for the greater good either, Merlin knows there is more than one way to win a Quidditch game. Do it for yourself!" Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and Madame Hooch backed off but as she did she noticed that Fleur wore a contemptuous smile on her face, "Miss Delacour, being the more seasoned witch I would have thought you of all people would be more of a role model. You would do well to remember that the only person in this room who is replaceable on this mission is yourself, not Granger."

Professor McGonagall shot to her feet. "Have a _biscuit_, Rolanda!" she snapped, thrusting the tin of shortbread at Madame Hooch, who took both the tin and the not-so-subtle hint back to her chair across the room with a rather sour look on her face.

Hermione looked at Professor McGonagall. "Why?"

Professor McGonagall regained her composure quickly and looked back at Hermione "What was that, Granger?"

Hermione took a deep breath, cleared her throat and spoke a little louder. "Why am I irreplaceable on this mission?"

Hesitantly, Professor McGonagall shot a look at Madame Hooch before sighing deeply and gulping down the last of her firewhiskey in resignation, "You're a Whorecrux, Hermione," she answered tartly

Hermione's jaw hung open in bafflement. "I'm a...what?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Shocking Revelations**

Professor McGonagall, never breaking eye contact with Hermione, put her empty glass unsteadily on the desk with a quiet clink and took a deep breath. "A Whorecrux, Granger. They are not too different from Horcruxes, given that they are powerful objects where someone can store a part of their soul in an attempt to make his or herself immortal. As you already know, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has created several Horcruxes in an attempt to achieve immortality. This new and rather disturbing discovery was been made during Professor Dumbledore's investigations. As well as Horcruxes it would appear that You-Know-Who has created 7 Whorecruxes." The Professor paused to regain her composure. Her voice had been rising in pitch during this entire speech and it finished now on a strained note that gave away her clear distress. It was clear to the two young witches that what the professor was telling them not only upsetting to her, but would very likely be upsetting to them too. Hermione was sure that for the Professor to be this uncomfortable (but to still insist on briefing them on the mission) meant that it must indeed be of incredible significance.

The Professor poured another firewhiskey. Hermione did her best to maintain a non-judgemental expression. She felt as nervous as though she was about to sit her end of year exams, and her glass was trembling in her hands. Noticing that Hermione had almost finished her drink, Professor McGonagall reached forward to top up her glass. She wondered if perhaps the young witch might need a nerve tonic by the end of the conversation (and briefly wondered if she should have accepted Poppy's offer of a Calming Draught earlier in the day for herself, but no, she could manage. She wasn't Head of Gryffindor House for nothing, by Merlin) before continuing to explain about Whorecruxes. McGonagall paused for a moment while replacing the cork in the near empty bottle and tried to explain the delicate situation as best she could. "A Whorecrux is a person into which the Dark Lord has stored a piece of his soul. The idea being that when he is at his weakest, when or if he discovers that his Horcruxes are being destroyed, he would go to each of the Whorecruxes and...retrieve the piece of his soul – ready to make new Horcruxes. Sort of a 'Plan B' if you will." The Professor gazed at the young witches to see if they understood her. By the look of sheer astonishment and horror on their faces she presumed that they were keeping up adequately. "In short, ladies, your mission will be to locate the other 6 Whorecruxes, retrieve the pieces of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's soul and destroy them." Professor McGonagall stopped speaking, clasped her hands on the desk and prepared herself for the barrage of questions she no doubt was about to receive.

Instead, there was a heavy, sullen silence in the room. To her credit, Hermione appeared to be quietly digesting the information that she had been giving before venturing any questions. Fleur, on the other hand, had gone an unattractive shade of pale that resembled freshly fallen snow. Professor McGonagall was aware that the French witch had been working at Gringotts to improve her English, as Hermione had so snippily pointed out earlier, but it was not just her command of the English language Fleur had been working on. She had in fact been working beside Bill Weasly as a curse breaker; Fleur was indeed much smarter than she ever let on. This was just as well really her knowledge of the ancient magic used to break the curses would be required in assisting Hermione in dealing with the Whorecruxes. It was clear from the strained, uncomfortable look on Fleur's face that she would not require much further explanation. Professor McGonagall really hoped that Hermione could fill in most of the blanks herself as well but feared that this was a little like counting your wizards cards before opening your chocolate frogs. She braced herself, knowing that she was going to have to spell it out eventually.

Hermione swirled her firewhiskey around her glass, gazing into the amber liquid. Part of her dearly wanted to grab the bottle from McGonagall and drain it, to drown herself in the pleasant burning sensation of alcohol, but the logical part of her brain knew that she need a clear head for the rest of this conversation to make sense. She slid forward to the edge of her seat and set her glass on the edge of McGonagall's desk. She knew her first question was selfish given everything McGonagall just said, but something inside told her that she had to know this before all else. "Professor, how did I become a Whorecrux?" Her voice was low and timid, even to herself she sounded like that small bushy-haired eleven year old who stepped off the Hogwarts Express more than 5 years ago. She pushed her insecurities to the back of her mind and lifted her gaze to Professor McGonagall's face and saw instantly that it was filled with compassion. Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to answer this question then closed it again slowly, contemplating her drink; she resisted the urge to down yet another glass – if she continued drinking this way she would be as undignified as Sybill Trelawney on a Saturday afternoon. (Or rather, morning. Or rather, Friday morning, in all honesty. She made a quick mental note to bring this up at the next staff meeting. The house elves' reports of finding tiny bottles of wine hidden all over the place had been increasing recently. Dumbledore ought to say something. This was Hogwarts, after all, not Club Tropicana)

"I am afraid, Miss Granger, that Hogwarts is somewhat to blame for that. You see, during the Triwizard tournament Alastor Moody was responsible for placing you safely in the care of the merfolk during the Second Task. Of course it was Barty Crouch junior and, well, we have recently uncovered evidence that during this time he 'tampered' with you using a complicated form of legilimency and ancient magic to place a piece of You-Know-Who's soul within your very core." Professor McGonagall answered.

Hermione took a deep breath, "How can you be sure, Professor?" she asked, unable to help the tears forming.

Professor McGonagall noted the hint of fear in Hermione's voice but answered her swiftly, knowing the young witch must have a complete understanding of what has happened and what is to happen. "Miss Granger, we know because Barty Crouch's memories were removed from him by Professor Snape after he administered the verituserum and before the Dementors performed their kiss on him. I can assure you that Professor Dumbledore has seen this particular memory in the pensieve. In fact, this is how we know of the existence of the Whorecruxes in the first place."

Hermione searched Professor McGonagall's face for some shred of doubt, but it was not there. She turned to Fleur who had an odd look of pity on her face as her blue eyes met Hermione's. At this, Hermione began to flush with embarrassment as certain thoughts begin fall into place. Well, I suppose they aren't called Whorecruxes for nothing, she thinks to herself. Unable to stay in her chair any longer, with the pressure of all three pairs of eyes on her, she thrusts her chair back and starts to pace across the study.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Getting to the Crux of the Matter**

Fleur followed Hermione with her eyes as she paced the room, feeling pity for the young witch and the news that she had just heard. She knew girls like this, had gone to school with them. Unsurprisingly, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was brimming with witches and wizards of high intelligence who felt that the best way to solve a problem was to go to the library and study. Because of this previous experience Fleur was sure that the young witch needed time to process the things that she had heard - presumably her logical thought process was excellent but she also knew that once this had been worked through there would be some unresolved emotions deep within the young witch. Fleur took a dainty sip from her firewhiskey as she rolled her eyes, no doubt it would fall to her to drag this pathetic child through puberty so they could complete whatever task it is that the Order has decided to burden her with. She supposed at least it would be good practice for when Gabrielle gets to this stage, although she cannot imagine Gabrielle paying attention for long enough to be entrusted with anything. The incident with the Niffler last summer... How angry Papa was! In any case, Fleur was resigned. She was here and she was part of this whether she liked it or not.

Fleur, aware that she had been caught up in her own thoughts, looked around the room. Professor McGonagall seemed to be having some sort of non-verbal argument with that foul woman who smelt like grease and grass, and the little girl was still pacing. The only reason Fleur had not put an end to this idiocy already was because she recognised the little girl as one of Harry Potter's best friends. Ever since he had rescued her darling baby sister from the lake even though he did not have to, she had promised that she would do whatever she could to help the Boy Who Lived (ridiculous nickname in her opinion, so very British and unrefined) - if this was the way she could repay him for his clear act of heroism then so be it – but she did not have to like it.

"Professor McGonagall," Fleur said, then paused allowing whatever it was going on between her and Madam Hooch to come to a more natural end. "I wonder why you 'ave asked me 'ere tonight? I trust you are not going to accuse me of being a 'orcrux as well? So then I must wonder why et is that you have called me 'alf way around the world when surely there are far better placed people to support 'Ermione" She cast a quick, appraising look at Hermione, "No offense 'Ermione, I will of course support you but what I am trying to say is that we are strangers." Hermione, who had stopped pacing in surprise at hearing Fleur speak, held her hands up in understanding and the French woman turned back to Professor McGonagall.

"Miss Delacour, Professor Dumbledore and I have discussed this and we feel that your... specific talents honed by your curse breaking experience at Gringotts and your unique heritage are best suited to not only this task but also in assisting Miss Granger in coping with the challenges ahead," Professor McGonagall answered, somewhat diplomatically. She glanced over at Hermione, the concern clear on her face, "Miss Granger, I understand that you already have a lot on your plate, what with trying to keep Mr Potter on task and out of trouble, however that said, not only do I think that you are the candidate for the task, your unique situation means that you are actually able to pick out other Whorecruxes. We just need to teach you how, if you are willing to assist us."

Hermione stopped pacing and turned to face Professor McGonagall. She simply nodded her agreement, aware that speaking would inevitably make her sound more like a squeaky and terrified schoolgirl than a competant member of the forces of good. Madam Hooch walked over to Professor McGonagall's desk to top up her glass and the rest, finishing off the bottle. Hermione settled back in her seat clutching her glass in anxiety, although it felt like both a life line and a noose at the same time. Fleur watched Hermione carefully and for the briefest of moments she felt a faint stirring of pride in the little girl for not running away from danger, however this only lasted for a fraction of a second before she settling back into the familiar feeling that Hermione was far beneath being considering important.

"So Minerva," Madame Hooch began, "How do we get old Voldy out of Hermione? I assume by the fact that they are called Whorecruxes she will have to, how do the children say, get her sexy on? Or is it back? No, that might be her groove... It's all much of a muchness."

Hermione choked on her drink she had been sipping and went a deep shade of scarlet. Fleur made a strangled noise that sounded very much like someone stepping on a puppy, long nails gripping the arms of her chair like talons. Professor McGonagall just stared at Madame Hooch who was already selecting another piece of shortbread before the expected words could come out of McGonagall's mouth.

The flying teacher grinned smugly as she took a bite of shortbread while Professor McGonagall drained her final glass of Firewhiskey of the night (alright, perhaps she'd have one more in bed later, to wash away the memories of this awful conversation) and leant backwards in her chair. "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but you have the jist of it, Rolanda" she answered. An awkward silence fell upon the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Scarlet Does Not Become You**

It dawned on Hermione that she had reached and completely surpassed her personal boundaries of utter weirdness somewhere between McGonagall informing her quite casually that Barty Crouch JR had somehow magically molested her, and Hooch uttering the word "sexy". She quickly got up from her seat, unsure for the moment which one made her feel more ill, and began to pace again as the rage began to build inside her.

She couldn't stop the burn of embarrassment as it trickled down her body, the flush reddening her cheeks and neck, or the sharp stings of humiliation that jolted through her at every step. Madame Hooch looked as though she might be about to attempt to say something comforting but Hermione threw her hand up sharply as though issuing a command to an animal. Madame Hooch seemed to think better of her action and instead reclined backwards in her chair, cradling the biscuit tin under one arm protectively. Hermione took a deep, slow breath and stood with both hands on the back of her chair, leaning on it as she directed her attention to her Head of House.

"Not... _prepared_?" Sheer rage, the likes of which she had never felt in her young life, began to bubble to the surface of her emotional shell. "NOT _PREPARED_? That's a little bit of a bloody understatement, don't you think? Given the circumstances?"

Hermione let the statement hang in the air for a second as she glared at McGonagall in the kind of fury normally reserved for people who didn't see anything wrong with enslaving entire magical species for centuries. "Let me see if I have this straight," she snarled, getting ready to launch herself into the sort of diatribe that would normally have Harry and Ron shuffling their feet in chagrin. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye - that wretched French woman was standing up! Maybe she was going to defend Hermione or maybe she was going to reprimand her but Hermione couldn't care less at this point. She spun on her heels and let Fleur see her expression. "Sit. Down," she ground out through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry if this is uncomfortable for you but I guarantee it is ten times more uncomfortable for me!"

An odd look flitted across Fleur's pretty face. She seemed to have, on some bizarre level, pleased the French woman by snapping at her. Hermione decided to store that fact away for later, when she would have time to decide whether she liked it or it made her more angry, and spun back to address Professor McGonagall. "So. 9 months or so ago while I was being held captive as the person Victor Krum would miss the most, an alleged _professor_ at this school 'tampered' with me – I sodding well hope you don't mean sexually, by the way – and placed a piece of You-Know-Who's soul inside me. You have known about this for some months," She held up her hand to prevent Professor McGonagall from interrupting her and continued in an even louder shriek, "You have known about this for several months but you still permitted me to be around Harry. I was involved in his search for the Horcruxes! I had no idea that this entire time I could have been a danger to one of my best friends or his mission to rid the wizarding world of evil! And then you tell me that in order to not be a Whorecrux, I need to "_get my sexy on_"? Don't you think that I might have benefited from this news a little bit sooner? And to make things worse you bring HER into it!" Hermione gestured at Fleur, who was watching the proceedings with a vaguely entertained look on her face. "You didn't think maybe you should have consulted me on that? Couldn't it have been Ginny, if it had to be anyone?" Hermione, panting with the exertion of being so unbelievably angry and betrayed, dropped heavily into her seat. The news of all this had, it seemed, only just reached her knees. Much like the rest of her body, they were taking it badly.

Professor McGonagall, who had determined that the best course of action was to let Hermione vent, now spoke with an air of authority in her voice that has not been quite so pronounced previously. "Miss Granger! As loyal and brave as Miss Weasley is, I think this situation warrants a little more than a well aimed Bat Bogey Hex!"

"Besides, not even Severus Snape knows of a counter curse to separate Ginny Weasley from Dean Thomas' lips long enough for her to help with anything." Madame Hooch smirked.

"Honestly Rolanda," Professor McGonagall sighed, "she moved on to Michael Corner last week. I thought you kept up with the student gossip."

Hooch looked interested. "I've got 2 Galleons on a bet with Pomona that she'll have worked her way around the entire-"

Hermione cleared her throat. "Excuse me! That's one of my best friends and I should think we have more on our minds right now than whom she may or may not be kissing!" She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Drinking and gambling addictions were apparently rife at Hogwarts. Honestly, these teachers behaved like children half the time.

"Miss Granger, that is the second time you have snapped at me in my own study. I understand your frustrations but try to understand that this is not the easiest conversation for any of us either." The professor locked eyes with Hermione, who bowed her head in resigned submission. McGonagall mouthed a quick _'make it three and I'm in too'_ at Hooch, who sniggered and gave a horribly unsubtle thumbs up, before continuing.

"I assure you that Professor Dumbledore and I have discussed at length the best course of action in this matter, including whether you pose any danger to Mr Potter and when would be the right time to tell you, We stand by our decisions on this matter as well as our decision to include Miss Delacour." Hermione fidgeted irritably but said nothing. Professor McGonagall, who felt she had been as hard on the girl as she could be in the circumstances, decided that the best way to proceed would be to steer the conversation back to the destruction of Whorecruxes. It seemed safer ground than discussing the busy love life of the youngest Weasley, and Minerva was not entirely sure that particular conversation would not come back to haunt her at some stage.

"The destruction of a Whorecrux is done in three parts; this is of course once you actually identify one of them. The first involves using Legilimency to locate the piece of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's soul, which will have been inserted deep within the host's soul. Next, you will be required to use ancient magic to separate the wretched soul from its host. Finally, and perhaps most unfortunately, sex magic will be used to destroy the Whorecrux. I am afraid there is no other way around it, Miss Granger, Miss Delacour. As a matter of fact, it is Professor Dumbledore's opinion that You-Know-Who has designed it that way on purpose." Professor McGonagall stated.

Fleur cleared her throat and spoke thoughtfully. "Eet actually makes sense, though if you-" she aimed a snide look at Hermione, "_Eenglish_ were not so repressed and embraced your sexuality, you would discover another chapter of magic was available to 'elp you in this war. Zis is 'owever beside the point, zis ancient magic you refer to is similar to the curse breaking we 'ave been doing for Gringotts, non? In other words, eet is blood magic to which you refer. Zis is where I come in, non?" Fleur flashed a charming smile at Madame Hooch as she finished her statement, which clearly said she felt that she had clearly demonstrated that she was in fact irreplaceable on this mission. The smile contained a little too much teeth for it to have been entirely polite. Hooch looked dazed for a moment, her head tilting to one side in bafflement.

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows in reproach as Hooch almost imperceptibly shook herself, looking unabashed. "Thank you for that summary, Miss Delacour. However we are not here for a philosophical debate so I would appreciate if you would keep both your opinions and your Veela thrall to yourself for now."

Professor McGonagall turned her attention back to Hermione who had watched this exchange with her mouth hanging open slightly. The girl had not run from the room yet, and Minerva was exceedingly glad about that, but then of course the child was a Gryffindor. Brave at heart, with daring, nerve and chivalry - the best of all the Houses, really, although she supposed that she might have always been a little biased in favour of students with those particular qualities. The entire Wizarding World might never realise the sacrifice these young witches would make for them, and yet the sacrifice would be made without expectation of fame or fortune. Bringing herself out of her thoughts and back to the room, the Professor smiled softly at Hermione and Fleur. "Can we continue on the assumption that, for the time being, you both consent to participate in the mission?" the Professor asked the young ladies.

Fleur considered Hermione. She was little more than a child in her eyes, but in the past few minutes she had shown that she had balls that even Merlin would be proud of. Fleur owed a debt to Harry and she felt that leaving this godawful place without consenting to participating might just damn the young witch to hell, not to mention the entire Wizarding world. She wasn't really sure she wanted to be the reason for the downfall of the entire magical community, but what other option was there? Heaving a long, affected sigh, Fleur nodded her consent at Professor McGonagall.

Hermione, on the other hand, was not ready to commit to this mission wholeheartedly. It wasn't because of the implication that she would likely be losing her virginity during some crackpot scheme that Dumbledore had come up with (although it rather was) nor the fact that everyone, including teachers, would know about it (although it rather was) and that was considerably more than the two people she would like to know about it: herself and whomever she lost her virginity to. While she was certain that everyone had assumed that person would be Ron, little did they know that Hermione had absolutely no romantic interest in any of her peers. Except maybe... But no. That would never be. It was foolish to even think of it, never mind dream.

Hermione was running out of reasons to disagree. Perhaps she could argue that she was concerned about her O., given that she would be sitting these in under a month - this mission would surely distract her from those. Not to mention that Harry would be needing help figuring things out, Merlin forbid he should ever visit the library and pick up a book voluntarily. Hermione just wasn't sure she could fit one more responsibility into her already short of space schedule. Surely Dumbledore would accept that she simply had to get through her O. first and then during the summer she could discuss this mission in more detail? Presumably there wasn't any immediate danger - Voldemort was hardly lurking around the next corner waiting to jump her bones to retrieve the piece of his soul that Barty Crouch JR had implanted in her. She scowled again at the thought, still very indignant with the word 'tampered'. Realising that the room had been silent for some time she quickly cast her eyes around and realised that everyone was staring at her waiting for a response.

Hermione swallowed thickly. "I... I'm sorry, I'm just not sure. I know what is expected of me, but I..." she stammered.

_In for a Knut, in for a Galleon,_ Fleur thought to herself and she stood up, brushing imaginary crumbs from her robes in smooth delicate swipes. "Mademoiselle 'ooch, Professor McGonagall, would you excuse 'Ermione and I? All ze firewhiskey 'as awoken an unexpected 'unger in me and I was 'oping 'Ermione would escort me to ze kitchens for a sandwich?" she announced to the somewhat stunned room.

"Very well, Miss Delacour, but don't take too long," McGonagall said, privately grateful for a break and wondering if she could somehow get to Trelawney's tiny wine stash and back before the young witches returned. Hermione was already at the study door, with a very relieved look on her face. As Fleur swept past her without bothering to hold the door open. Hermione sighed. She could tell this was going to be a very long night.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Meanwhile Back at the Batcave

A slow smile curled Fleur's lips as Hermione glanced back at her, scowling. "'Ow refreshing it is to be with someone who does not attempt to 'ide what zey are feeling. I zink perhaps you do not even know you are doing it?"

Hermione stopped in her tracks, cheeks flushing. "I choose not to waste time with silly guessing games about how this person or that person is feeling. What of it?" She glared at Fleur defiantly. Fleur tried but failed to stifle a chuckle, while Hermione scowled so hard her face was beginning to hurt. She marched past Fleur and down the stairs past the Hufflepuff common room. Her mind was racing and she supposed she was slowly coming to terms with the logic of McGonagall's proposal, but she certainly was not happy about it.

Hermione reached up and tickled the pear until it became the green door knob that allowed her access to the kitchens. She hesitantly stepped through - the last time she had been in the kitchens was around the time she tried to explain the purpose of S.P.E.W. to Winky and the other House Elves. She had not exactly left on friendly terms. Hermione was uncomfortably aware of Fleur following her closely (what was that perfume? Something French and pretentious, no doubt, although it did smell delicious) and of the blush that tinged her own cheeks, but she was distracted from these thoughts when her eyes fell upon Dobby.

"Miss Granger! Miss Granger! Dobby is very happy to see you!" he exclaimed as he climbed up on the table to be at eye level with her.

"Good evening Dobby, how are you?" Hermione's genuine smile lit up her face in a way that Fleur had never seen before. Lurking behind Hermione, she arched her eyebrow at the exchange but refrained from commenting.

"Dobby is doing very well, thank you Miss Granger! Dobby is liking it here at Hogwarts very much," the elf squeaked. The wide smile beaming out from his small crinkled face certainly matched his joyful tone.

"Dobby," Hermione explained as she waved a hand towards Fleur nonchalantly, "this is my... guest, Fleur Delacour." She stumbled over the words slightly but regained her composure and continued smoothly. "I know it is frightfully late but I was hoping to sneak in and make a sandwich as Fleur is a little peckish-"

"Miss Granger, Dobby will not hear of it!" The elf exclaimed, hopping down from the table immediately. "Dobby will fetch bread and cheese for Miss Delacour and hot chocolate with marshmallows for Miss Granger who is looking so tired."

"Thank you," Hermione sank heavily onto one of the benches and rested her head in her hands, tangling her fingers through her brown curls. It became obvious to Fleur after a moment that there would be no invitation to sit - _what awful manners these British have_ - so she slid gracefully onto the bench opposite Hermione, huffing slightly. Fleur rested her hands on the well-worn wooden table, alternating between staring at the smooth surface and at her perfectly manicured nails. The silence settled around them gently. Hermione was surprised that it didn't feel nearly as oppressive as the silence had back in McGonagall's study, although in all fairness there had been teachers staring at her then, discussing her sexual past, present and future (and for some reason, betting on Ginny, a thought which nagged at her relentlessly and made her feel worse about the whole horrible situation). She felt relieved that Fleur respected her need to simply be silent and did not badger her with questions, because any more stress right now would undoubtedly cause her to explode again. She pressed her fingers to her temples and massaged gently. Just a few minutes of thought, and then she could sort out-

At the sound of a quiet clink, Hermione glanced up. Dobby had set a mug of marshmallow-laden hot chocolate down beside her left elbow. Across the table, Fleur had already begun to examine the bread and cheese that the elf had provided her with. She obviously found it satisfactory (or at least was so hungry that she decided to tolerate the quality, and Hermione didn't give a damn which it was) and began to cut into the loaf with precise, even strokes.

The almost companionable silence lasted until Fleur was finished with her snack and Hermione had reached the bottom of her hot chocolate. She had been contemplating using a replenishing spell on her mug when suddenly she noticed that Fleur was on her feet. Hermione felt her anger bubbling up again. She didn't move, eyes fastened pointedly to the table, determined to show this pretentious French witch that she was not some kind of pet who would respond to her beck and call. The moment stretched out unbearably. Hermione held her breath, expecting an outburst, or at the very least, a snide remark. She was absolutely stunned when Fleur slid onto the bench beside her, propping her elbows on the table and leaning back so she could study Hermione with those dazzling blue eyes.

"Take some advice from me, 'Ermione," the older witch began. Hermione glanced over, unable to stop her eyes tracing the delicate curve of Fleur's neck. "You 'ave nothing to lose and everyzing to gain from agreeing to Professor McGonagall's proposition at zis time. At worst you will learn some very advanced magic, at best you will get zat nasty piece of You-Know-Who out of you. I am not going to say that it will be easy, but zen nothing zat is easy ever feels that it will be worthwhile! What is it zat you feel you have to lose at this point?"

Hermione lifted her eyes in exasperation to meet Fleur's challenging gaze. "Oh I don't know - how about my pride? My dignity? MY VIRGINITY?" she exclaimed, unable to believe how calmly Fleur was dealing with this mission.

Fleur arched a perfect eyebrow. "I myself 'ave no intention of losing any pride or dignity over zis. In fact I zink zose who know what you have sacrificed will be brimming with pride for you." She paused for a moment to allow the significance of this sentence to hit Hermione. "As for your virginity, it is really no big zing. Sex gets better with practice. In actual fact losing your virginity is similar to your potions lessons: ze first time it is messy and painful and zere is much anxiety, but after some practice, you learn to stir zis way and zat and before you know it it has become a wonderful zing." Fleur spoke with such calm conviction in her voice that Hermione couldn't help but feel a little reassured.

"I will be zer with you and we will get through zis together and afterwards we can part company and never see each other again if you so desire, but let us at least try, ozzerwise you will never forgive yourself. I do not believe that I would forgive you either." Fleur rose smoothly, and offered Hermione a hand. Hermione scowled, her eyebrows knitting together as she processed what the Veela had said. For a second she had wondered if she had been enthralled by her as Madam Hooch had, earlier in the study. Hermione remembered something that she had heard her father tell her mother - "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." If she gained nothing else from this debacle, then perhaps she could learn how to defend herself from the Veela's thrall. There was, after all, knowledge to be gained from every endeavour. Just like that, her mind was made up and she allowed a smile to creep across her face as she took Fleur's hand and rose from the bench. They walked back to McGonagall's office together without another word spoken.

* * *

The two teachers jumped as a soft knock sounded at the door of the study. McGonagall hastily shoved four tiny bottles of wine behind the statue of Penelope the Prim in the corner of the room and then opened the door. Albus Dumbledore stood there holding a paper bag, the twinkle in his eye still glimmering despite the seriousness of the situation. "Thank you Minerva. Sherbert Lemon?" he said as he offered the bag in her direction. McGonagall politely refused. Lemons had always made her feel a bit queasy. The tiny wines she and Hooch had consumed weren't helping - they seemed to be unexpectedly potent. She hoped that Trelawney had the presence of mind to stay away from the Potions classroom, with all those open flames. Of course in her current state, the idea of Snape and Sybill together was almost enough to send her into hysterics (Minerva could just imagine it now - "My darling Severus! I have predicted our love will be attacked by some dreaded dark force, possibly due to your history with You-Know-Who!" "..._Ob..vi..ou..sly_...")

"Well ladies. Things not going as smoothly as we had hoped?" Dumbledore asked, offering the bag to Hooch (who never turned down a chance to put something in her mouth, sweet or otherwise).

Madame Hooch scoffed, her cheeks bulging with Sherbert Lemons. "Perhaps if Hermione were a bit older or less frigid, this would be an easier job." Albus nodded thoughtfully and turned to Professor McGonagall with a quizzical expression.

Minerva felt all the frustrations of the evening beginning to boil inside her. "Granger is a young girl, Albus! Not a piece of meat!" she exclaimed, fighting to keep her composure, "What we are asking her to do is akin to prostitution! This could do real emotional damage to Hermione, perhaps Fleur too. Let us not forget the damage to their reputation as well as the reputation of this school."

Albus stared sternly back at McGonagall, although he appeared to be trying to hide a smirk. "Yes, Merlin forbid we have another Ginny Weasley situation running through the rumor mill here at Hogwarts." The headmaster flashed a slightly reproachful look towards Madame Hooch. "3 Galleons you say, Minerva?" he asked thoughtfully. "I will bet 5 Galleons that Ginny will settle with Harry Potter before the month is out." Hooch pulled her notebook out of her pocket and began running the odds while Dumbledore chose a winged armchair and lowered his frail body into it. He leaned his elbows on the arms and clasped his hands together, the very picture of serenity. McGonagall pinched her nose and counted to ten.

"Is all hope lost for the wizarding world as we know it? And what are the chances the weather will be windy for the Slytherin versus Gryffindor match on Saturday?" Dumbledore asked, selecting another Sherbert Lemon from the bag with the greatest of care.

He might well have been the greatest wizard of our time and the only person You-Know-Who had ever feared, but sometimes Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore deserved a hearty and solid punch in the face. The way he offered people those blasted sweets as if he thought they would fix every little problem drove Minerva crazy. She took a steadying breath and tried to keep her tone level. "It may have all come as a bit of a shock to Miss Granger but I believe that Miss Delacour has the potential to bring her on board with our plan."

Dumbledore nodded. "I do love it when a plan comes together," he murmured to himself, "but as you like to say Minerva, let us not count our wizard cards before we have opened our chocolate frogs. It may be that the first Whorecrux proves all a bit much for Miss Granger. As Rolanda has quite truthfully, if rather bluntly, pointed out, Miss Granger can be a little bit of a prude." Albus raised his hand at the protestations Minerva was about to voice. "Calm down Minerva, I am not complaining. I sometimes wish all the Hogwarts students were a little more in control of their hormones. But modern times..." he waved his hand absently as he let the sentence hang in the air unfinished.

Hooch let out a sharp snort. McGonagall scowled at her for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. Dumbledore sighed and got to his feet. "I should leave before Miss Granger and Miss Delacour return. A final word of advice though - you would do well, Minerva, to start thinking of them as young ladies rather than schoolgirls. I suggest that you take things slow with them. Do not reveal the Whorecruxes we have identified, other than Tonks. It is probably best not to overwhelm them right now."

"Sort of ease them in gently, you mean?" Hooch said, grinning at the double entendre. "Slip them into-"

"Really, Rolanda!" Minerva said, appalled.

Albus smiled at Hooch then turned back to Minerva. "Miss Granger needs to spend time with Severus learning Occlumency and Legilimency. Send Miss Delacour to me and we will perfect the ancient magic required, then one can teach the other which will of course strengthen the bonding process. Once all of these tasks are complete, we will will send them to you Rolanda, to learn a suitable technique to destroy the piece of soul. It is slower than I would have liked, however, I think to rush Miss Granger in this matter would harm the mission. She needs time to bond with Miss Delacour and to get her head around this before we attempt to force her to be less... prudish. Minerva, I trust you will oversee everything with the greatest of care although I expect and require regular updates."

Hooch looked indignant. "Naturally with Minerva being Hermione's Head of House she should take charge, but she is a bit of a prude herself at times if I dare say so myself."

"You daren't," Minerva snapped, but Hooch ignored her.

"Perhaps I should continue to remain involved? As the young ladies adjust to my 'crass sense of humour', as Minerva so delicately put it this morning, it will help them - particularly Granger - to come out of their shells a bit. Minerva has always been a little... uptight in the bedroom..." Hooch had been focused on Dumbledore as she proposed this scenario but while he nodded in agreement, her eyes slid to McGonagall's stony face. "Dear, dear Minerva! You positively look like you are going to explode! Albus knows we occasionally sleep together, as do half the staff. Really you are just proving my point!"

McGonagall looked apoplectic. Hooch looked unapologetic. Dumbledore sighed.

"Have a biscuit, Minerva," he said, and pushed the tin into her hands before she could start hexing anyone.

Without another word, he exited the room, leaving them to bicker. The women were too wrapped up in their domestic to even cast a goodbye glance in his direction but if they had, they would have seen that he had a suspiciously tiny-wine-bottle-shaped bulge in the pocket of his robes. He wasn't called the greatest wizard of the age for nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Hello there and thanks for reading please do leave a review let me know what you think? **

**Also – it goes without saying all characters belongs to JK**

Chapter 8: Hermione the Rebel Without A Biscuit

Fleur, never one for observing the niceties of knocking, opened the door to Professor McGonagall's study and strode in. Hermione couldn't help rolling her eyes as she followed the French woman. It was immediately apparent that they had interrupted something. The general atmosphere was tense; it appeared as though McGonagall was trying to disembowel Hooch using only her glare, while the flying instructor was meeting the professor's eyes with a much too innocent smile on her face. The atmosphere was positively volcanic. Fleur arched her eyebrow, scenting the crackle of fury in the air. After a long moment (during which Hermione assured herself she almost certainly wasn't hiding behind Fleur, she just happened to be standing directly behind her and cowering slightly which was absolutely not the same thing) during which neither of the older witches moved, Fleur cleared her throat. "'Ermione and I 'ave discussed this proposition and we agree to proceed, for ze moment," she stated.

Professor McGonagall, with a last hard glare at Hooch, which had almost something of a sneer in it, turned to Hermione who stepped out from behind Fleur and nodded her head once to confirm what the French woman had said. "So please tell us Professor, what are the next steps? I'm sure that you can understand that I don't want to remain a Whorecrux for a second longer than necessary," said Hermione as she dropped into the nearest chair, realising that an inexorable tide of fatigue was sweeping through her body.

"Miss Granger you look exhausted and I am certain that Miss Delacour is tired too, especially from travelling such a long way. You need sleep right now more than anything." Professor McGonagall said tersely, casting a sharp look at Fleur as if daring her to contradict what she had said before continuing. The French witch didn't twitch a muscle. "Miss Delacour, you will report to the headmaster in his office directly after breakfast where you two will work together on the ancient magic. At the same time Miss Granger, you will report to Professor Snape-" Hermione couldn't help the groan of despair that slipped out when she heard this but Professor McGonagall, looking as if she only needed the tiniest push to start Transfiguring everyone in the room into biscuits, continued loudly, "-WHO WILL TEACH YOU LEGILIMENCY AND HOW TO USE IT IF YOU ARE TO SUCCEED IN THE TASKS AHEAD, AND POSSIBLY HELP DEFEAT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND SAVE THE WIZARDING WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, MISS GRANGER! If that is not too inconvenient for you!"

Hermione goggled, terrified, at McGonagall. "S'fine," she whispered, and fought the urge to scramble under the chair like Crookshanks normally did when he knew he'd been bad.

Professor McGonagall took a few long, slow breaths and seemed to compose herself. "In the meantime, I suggest that you go back to your dormitory and get some sleep. We... I shall show Miss Delacour to her guest quarters. The room that Professor Dumbledore has set aside has an ample study. A selection of books both of you ought to read will be made available in that study. Miss Granger, I know that you at least will not let that opportunity go to waste. Once you have learned what you can from Professor Snape and Miss Delacour has perfected the ancient magic with Professor Dumbledore, then the two of you will need to meet with Madam Hooch who will teach you the rest of what you need to know. After that you will learn from each other. Once this has all been completed we will tell you who the first Whorecrux is."

Hermione was startled to hear this. "Am I not the first Whorecrux?" she asked. A snort came from Madam Hooch, who was rifling through the biscuit tin for hidden delicacies. "Granger," McGonagall took a deep breath and softened her tone slightly. "Hermione. I can not imagine how difficult this is and will be for you. All I ask is that you trust me and learn these things, we will take it one step at a time and my..." she hesitated and coloured slightly before adding ".. my door, and indeed, my biscuit tin, is always open for you. But for now I want you to return to Gryffindor tower and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."

Hermione nodded obediently and wobbled as she stood up from her seat. She was shocked to note that her legs felt like lead. She didn't feel particularly sleepy - instead her head was buzzing with all this new information. She was not sure how she was going to manage to shut down her brain tonight in order to get some rest. The young witch silently slipped out of the study, nodding a rather grudging but civil goodnight to Fleur, and trudged slowly through the corridors of Hogwarts towards the Fat Lady and the portrait which would allow her access to the Gryffindor common room.

She turned a corner and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge, she snapped out of her thoughts and scanned the hallway ahead of her and sighed as she saw Peeves teasing Mrs Norris, was this nightmare ever going to end? She took a deep breath and then just as she was about to plough forward she stopped herself, Hermione abruptly turned around and walked away leaving Peeves to torment Mrs Norris, she could not take responsibility for everything could she? All she wanted more than anything was to fall into her bed, pull the curtains around her and go to sleep, hopefully she would wake up tomorrow and all she would need to worry about is a Horcrux hunt, as opposed to a Whorecrux hunt!

Hermione climbed the stairs to Gryffindor common room, feeling weighed down by responsibility, and stifled a yawn as she cleared her throat in an attempt to rouse the Fat Lady from her slumber. It had no effect. The Fat Lady snored on. "Excuse me," Hermione said loudly. There was still no response. She could feel her frustration rising like bile. "Lacum leonum! Now kindly open up, Professor McGonagall has told me to rest and that is exactly what I intend to do!" Hermione's tone was less than friendly, for which she felt a little guilty, but she was satisfied to see that the portrait swung open immediately. Hermione stepped through into the common room and was somewhat disgruntled to see Harry and Ron sitting in the corner playing wizards chess. She really could not bear to face their questions. Not tonight.

Harry began to rise up out of his seat to greet her but she held up her hand to stop him. "McGonagall gave me detention tomorrow because of a comment I made in my homework, Harry, and that is all I want to say about it." Hermione stepped around Harry and was intent on heading up to the dormitory as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion until she heard Ron mutter under his breath. "Bloody mental that one!"

At this comment Hermione spun on her heels as a deep, angry blush flooded her face. "Why don't you just Fuck. Off. Ronald!" she spat at him. She stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds as she registered Harry's eyebrows almost crawl off his face in shock. The scarlet flush drained from Hermione's face and a moment after a similar flush began to crawl up Ron's neck. He sat staring at her as the pawn, dangling forgotten between his fingers, kicked his hand in protest. Satisfied with that, Hermione walked out of the room, up the stairs and quietly slipped into her dorm room.

The first thing that Hermione registered in the dark dormitory was that the curtains around her bed were already drawn. She knew what that meant but she wasn't too bothered about it. Hermione and the youngest Weasley had grown very close over the last few years since neither of them had a sister to confide in at home and found that sometimes just sharing the random thoughts in their head was a comfort. Ginny had suffered from terrible nightmares ever since Chamber of Secrets had been reopened. Hermione on the other hand had suffered nightmares all her life. It was not unusual for them to lay in bed together and talk all night or to just hold each other, chasing the demons away until daylight. Hermione gently pulled one of the curtains aside and saw the young redhead witch curled up in a ball in her bed. To a casual observer she might have looked like she was sleeping but Hermione saw the long, damp eyelashes resting on rosy, tear-stained cheeks. Suddenly everything she had been thinking about, worrying about, stressing about flew out of her head. She gently stroked Ginny's head then whispered "I'll be right back" as she picked up her pajamas and went to the girls bathroom to change for bed. Pulling her shirt over her head, she wondered how much she was could really tell Ginny. They were best friends of course; Ginny was interested in Harry and Hermione had no love (or lust) interest in anyone. Hermione thought of all people, Ginny would understand that her real problem with this entire Whorecrux thing was that she was quite simply the only person on the planet who did not think of or seem to enjoy anything remotely related to sex. Hermione sighed and gathered her things as she quietly placed her laundry in her trunk and slipped into bed behind her best friend. As she put a protective arm around the young witch she felt Ginny's body uncurl and relax against her. Hermione absentmindedly stroked Ginny's head as she decided that she was going to have to tell Harry something - if she was going to be away on a mad Whorecrux hunt, she couldn't leave Ginny with no one to chase her nightmares away.

Ginny turned in the bed towards Hermione and studied her face carefully. She slipped her hand into Hermione's and squeezed it gently. "You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Hermione," Ginny said softly. Hermione looked at her friend and smiled as she brushed a stray strand of hair behind the redhead's ear.

"Gin, do you ever wonder what would happen if we just rebel against all that is expected of us?" she asked the younger witch. Ginny, born a rebel worse than any of her brothers, grinned at her.

"Merlin, Hermione! If you rebelled the whole wizarding world would fall apart just out of shock! Besides, I think I do enough rebelling for the both of us." Ginny's eyebrows raised and both girls quietly chuckled, but quickly Hermione felt tears spring to her eyes as she contemplated just how much pressure was on her. She turned her back on Ginny as she began to sob quietly. Ginny wasn't offended at this she simply snuggled into Hermione's back. It was now her turn to throw a comforting arm around the older witch and stroke her head soothingly. Ginny began to softly hum a lullaby as Hermione drifted off to sleep.

Hermione's eyes shot open at the sound of someone yanking back the curtains around her bed. She groaned as she saw the blurry image of Fleur Delacour staring at Ginny, who was wrapped around her like a Body Bind curse, an eyebrow raised and a rueful grin on her face. The grin didn't last long, however, because Ginny unleashed a colossal Bat Bogey Hex on Fleur that was, Hermione had to admit privately, her most spectacular yet. Hermione slumped down in the bed, watching Ginny yell at the staggering French woman covered in little snotty missiles, and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was going to be another long day.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! Love them and really glad that you are enjoying the story :o) Here is the next chapter – as always review.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books...

"I was just coming to tell you that you 'ad slept in!" Fleur spat at Hermione as she flailed frantically at the Bat Bogeys which zoomed around her with increasing ferocity. "Call these 'orrible zings off!"

Ginny hesitated for a moment, her eyes shifting towards Hermione, before performing the counter curse with what she seemed to think was an appropriate amount of haste for someone you despised completely. Hermione could feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and tried desperately to repress it, knowing it would only serve to increase Fleur's anger. She reached out to Ginny and gently pushed her wand arm down. "Thank you, Fleur," she said, with only a slight hitch in her voice. For the love of all that is small and cute and fluffy in this world, do not laugh at her. When she risked a glance up, Fleur was glaring directly at her and her eyebrows were drawn together in irritation. Bugger. "Would you mind waiting in the common room for me, please?" Hermione asked politely, as she swung her legs out of the bed. She blushed deeply as she noticed that her dorm mates had all been woken by the scuffle and were staring in fascination.

Fleur huffed what was presumably an agreement to this request, wiped one delicate hand down her face and inspected it closely in disgust, before she glided elegantly - or at least, as elegantly as one can while covered in mucus - to the edge of the room. Pausing on the threshold, she cast a venomous and unforgiving look at Ginny, before purposefully letting the door slam behind her. Hermione gathered clean clothes out of her trunk and determinedly ignored the questioning glances from Lavender and Parvati that she could feel burning into her back. Ginny cleared her throat and looked at Hermione expectantly. Hermione sighed, deciding that she couldn't divulge even a snippet of information while she had an audience of gossipy Gryffindor girls - her only choice was to perpetuate the lie she had fed Harry and Ron last night. "I'm late for a detention with Snape. Professor McGonagall gave me the detention for some, um, comments I wrote in my transfiguration essay."

This seemed to satisfy Lavender and Parvati but the youngest Weasley was not convinced. Ginny, who could read her better than anyone, simply paused, head cocked to one side, before she replied. "You better hurry up then. You know Snape will be even more of a git if you're late." Hermione mouthed a silent thank you and ran to the bathroom to get dressed hurriedly before dashing downstairs to join a thankfully snot-free but still rather annoyed Fleur in the common room.

The two witches walked together towards the Great Hall, enjoying the relative peace of the corridors and the distant smell of bacon. Strictly speaking, since this wasn't really a detention, Hermione was not late and she really wanted to grab a slice of toast or something before she spent time with the sallow-skinned potions master. Perhaps she should apologise or something to Fleur. Ginny's Bat Bogeys were never a pleasant experience and Fleur had genuinely seemed to be trying to help. "I'm sorry that Ginny hexed you, Fleur," Hermione mumbled.

Fleur blinked slowly and then, watching Hermione out of the corner of her eye as she chose her words carefully. "Truly, I was not surprised to find a Weasley in your bed... I was simply surprised to see zat Weasley in your bed."

Hermione gaped at Fleur, almost tripping over her own feet as she halted in surprise. She could not seem to produce any sound beyond a squeak, which was most annoying since she currently wished to give Fleur a large piece of her mind in the form of a complete verbal smackdown, the likes of which the halls of Hogwarts had never seen before. Above them, Nearly Headless Nick backed away in alarm and floated hastily through the nearest wall. A family of Nargles quailed in their nest, feeling the imminent pressure of a lingual storm. Fleur, realising that her companion was no longer accompanying her, stopped and swivelled slowly to face the younger witch. It struck her quite suddenly that Hermione was not nearly as unappealing as she'd first thought. Perhaps it was the passion gleaming in her large brown eyes or the way her white teeth bit down on her pink, plump lip, leaving indented teeth marks that Fleur could not help staring at. In any case, Hermione was now slowly advancing on Fleur in what was, if Fleur was honest, perhaps a slightly more aggressive way than she was comfortable with.

Not that Fleur was afraid of this child (although, she reminded herself, this 'child' was said to be the brightest pupil at Hogwarts for a century and had helped the famous Harry Potter to survive on more than one occasion, and one could not simply discount those statements, even if the standards of Hogwarts' magical education were of course far, far below Beauxbatons. Still, it wasn't prudent to underestimate your opponent). Not at all. The involuntary step she took backwards away from Hermione was merely to maintain an appropriate personal distance between them. Naturally. And her hand, curled tightly around the wand in her pocket, had surely always been gripping that firmly. It was important to remain vigilant in these dangerous school corridors, wasn't it?

Hermione moved quickly towards Fleur, ignoring the older witch's attempt to back away, and jabbed a finger into the older girl's shoulder, hard. "Just because you are a sex-crazed Veela whore, does not mean that everyone. Else's. Actions. Are. Motivated. By. Lust!" The last few words spilling from her mouth were punctuated with quick, sharp jabs that made Fleur wince and clutch at her shoulder. "You know what? I don't have time for your stupid snide remarks this morning. I have to go. I trust you're smart enough to find your own bloody way around." She turned abruptly and headed towards the dungeons, leaving Fleur standing alone in the middle of the corridor, looking slightly forlorn.

In the time it took for Hermione to reach the Potions dungeon, she had managed to maintain the healthy level of rage Fleur had ignited in her chest. Given her own experiences with Snape, and Harry's accounts of his encounters with the Slytherin professor, she knew that this morning was likely to be a long and torturous experience. A nice bit of rage might come in useful. Hermione scowled and scuffed her shoe along the stone floor. She really wished she'd had that toast after all.

As Hermione knocked on the potion master's classroom door, she heard him snarl an acknowledgement from the other side. She pushed the door open and stepped through tentatively. Snape was standing in front of his desk, arms crossed over his long, flowing black robes. "20 points from Gryffindor for your lateness, Miss Granger. Even the Longbottom boy has grasped punctuality by this point in his sorry life," Snape said. His expression managed to convey quite clearly that he would rather be doing plenty of other things right now - things up to and including being eaten alive by a Norwegian Ridgeback, polishing James Potter's Quidditch trophies or having a romantic tea with said Longbottom boy in Madame Puddifoot's. Possibly a combination of all three.

Hermione forced herself not to shrink back from his glare. She did not want the surly professor to see that he frightened her in the slightest. She'd always thought that behind that sneering, twitching, brooding facade, Snape could was probably a very sensitive soul merely scarred by the emotional whipping that life had given him.

Snape considered her for a moment then motioned for her to sit at the desk at the front of the room. A heartbeat after her firm backside hit the seat, Snape raised his wand in her direction "LEGILIMENS!" he yelled, but at the same instant Hermione, reacting entirely on instinct and DA training, retaliated with "PROTEGO!" The shield she had summoned sprang instantly between herself and Snape, cutting his link to her mind dead before he could see anything. She felt the sheer power of his magic bounce off the shield though. The weight of the attack sent little trickles of dread down her spine. Her near future felt like it was about to become a world of pain.

"Foolish girl! I thought you needed to learn. Give me your wand!" Snape barked at her, holding his hand out. Hermione glared at him. The delicate He's-Just-Sensitive-Theory flew quietly out of the window of her mind, with the raucous He's-Actually-An-Utter-Bastard-Theory quickly replacing it and smashing the panes. She hesitated before handing her wand over, a little shaken by what she considered an unprovoked attack without even a word exchanged about what the lesson plan was. Snape rolled his eyes in frustration. "Believe me Miss Granger, there are far more interesting minds I would like to troll through and this is nothing short of ridiculous in my opinion, but if you want to continue this mission then you need to learn both legilimancy and occlumancy and the only way to do so is through practical demonstration. Now give…me..your..wand." He held his hand out again. Hermione reached up and placed her wand in his hands. Snape laid it on the table with a soft thunk and attacked her again before even looking up.

Images of everything that happened last night flashed through her head. NO! she thought to herself in horror, she was not going to share every damn thing with him. She was not going to let him into her mind and see anything as intimate as her yelling at Ron, or her cuddles with Ginny. The sheer outrage Hermione felt at the idea forced Snape's magic back. Maybe she couldn't stop him outright but she could try to push him to other parts of her memory. She did so - every time she felt him pressing upon an area she did not want him to see, she reverted back to a memory of a dental procedure that her father performed on her. Snape eventually withdrew from her mind and Hermione found she was on the floor, crouched in a feral huddle. She could feel her teeth were bared in a half-snarl. Snape raised an eyebrow at her as she got up, smoothed her skirt down, composed her features and retook her seat. She was not going to let anyone get the better of her any more. "An acceptable first attempt, Miss Granger," Snape said, his mouth twisting unpleasantly. Hermione's eyes widened. Coming from Professor Snape that statement had almost been a compliment, at least if you tried to ignore the tone that dripped with loathing for anyone who associated with Harry Potter. Without giving her a minute to recover, Snape began the attack again. This time he was relentless and cruel, twisting his magic into little stabbing points to try to wriggle his way inside her mind. Hermione felt like she'd been run over by a herd of Hippogriffs, and just when she thought she could not take it anymore, Snape managed to slip into a deep dark part of her. She knew instantly what it was and, panicking, thrust Snape out of her mind so hard that she unintentionally threw him backward into his desk. He grabbed at it in alarm, steadying himself as some of the rolls of parchment rolled off and noisily clunked to the floor.

Hermione, feeling exhausted and seriously violated for the second time in 24 hours, braced herself as Snape strode to his store cupboard and pulled out two small vials. She was surprised when she saw he was tipping the green potion into his mouth. What use could that have right now? Which potion was it? Her natural curiosity was piqued. He glided over to her with the remaining vial held out. It was full of a deep purple liquid which sloshed thickly inside. She looked at Snape with distrust, but not wishing to provoke him by refusing what he was offering, took the potion from him and drank it down. "Miss Granger," Snape snapped, his dark eyes blazing with perverse joy and anger, "never accept a potion from anyone without first knowing what it is! 5 points from Gryffindor for sheer stupidity!"

In previous years, Hermione had tended to leave the outbursts of teenage rage to Harry, since he seemed to be so naturally good at it, but Snape was pushing all her buttons here. In a sheer fit of pique, Hermione threw the empty potion flask at the wall where it smashed impressively in a shower of tinkling glass. She rose up from her seat and headed for the door, furious with the potions teacher. Snape couldn't hide the sneer of triumph curling on his lips. "Miss Granger!" he snapped, pleased that he had finally got a rise out of her. She whipped round, ready to meet his pronounced punishment with a very specific instructions as to which bodily orifice he could put said punishment, but as she did Snape tossed her wand towards her. She caught it by the handle. "Enter my mind," Snape hissed. "Surely an insufferable know-it-all like yourself-"

Before Snape had even finished the sentence, Hermione was attacking him with every drop of power and skill she could muster. His mental shield seemed impenetrable. She began to probe it, raining down on his defences with brutal assaults, searching for a weakness, for any tiny chink in the armour. Snape's expression was oddly strained, as if he was expending a lot of energy to maintain his shield. Beads of sweat ran down Hermione's neck and trailed under the collar of her shirt. She would show him what an insufferable know-it-all was capable of. Still, she could not get through this damn wall. Suddenly she remembered something from the Quidditch world cup - the Wronski feint! Hermione aimed one last final push at Snape's defences and made sure to pant heavily as if exhausted beyond measure before withdrawing from his mind. The second she saw a smile begin to curl the corners of his mouth, she attacked again with a savage ferocity that would have startled those who thought they knew her. For a few brief moments, he seemed so surprised that he almost forgot to resist her, and once he did it was too late. She was past the wall before he could throw it up. She began sifting through his memories while she could feel Snape squirming in fury and trying to throw her out. It became harder for Hermione to proceed - she would feel him trying to push her in one direction, away from the glimpses she caught of his past. Hermione knew what she wanted to find in his mind and began looking for memories of Snape with You-Know-Who. Surely he had something in here that she could use to help Harry, in some way. What she found instead were other memories - was that Snape alone in his bedroom? Was that actually Harry's mother smiling at him in the hallway? And this one - a young Bellatrix Lestrange and a young Snape - could this be of use? She pushed forward determinedly, examining the memory further. Mother of Merlin, were they playing patty cake? In absolute horror, she retreated out of Snape's mind completely and again found herself on her arse on the floor.

"GET OUT!" Snape yelled at her, no longer concealing his hatred. Hermione didn't need telling twice. She got up and ran out of the door, knocking over a stunned Malfoy in the corridor, the image of Bellatrix and Snape playing patty cake forever etched on her memory. She stumbled all the way back to Gryffindor tower with her head held to the side, in case she needed to vomit. Whorecruxes suddenly didn't sound so bad.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N thanks again for the reviews – next update this weekend.**

Mantra the dictionary definition of piqued (Verb) is:

**Verb:**

**Stimulate (interest or curiosity).**

**So I think we used it right - thanks though keep an eye out for stuff like this**

Chapter 10 _Melting The Ice Around A Veela's Heart_

Fleur, too stunned to move, had watched Hermione's bushy hair disappear around the corner before she'd realised that she wasn't quite sure where she was. This castle confused her with its seemingly endless winding corridors and stupid moving staircases. She dearly missed the simple, delicate architecture of Beauxbatons. Growling in frustration, she started off in the opposite direction from the one Hermione had chosen. Admittedly, she had intended to rile the younger witch up a little with her comment about the Weasley girl, but she hadn't expected the response to be so threatening and angry. Perhaps the Weasley girl was going to sneak out of the bed before their dorm mates woke up? Had she accidentally outed them by pulling the curtains aside? '_Damn sexually repressed English wizards!'_ Fleur muttered, flicking her hair over her shoulder in annoyance, as she navigating her way to the headmaster's study by use of a hastily drawn map on a wrinkled piece of parchment that McGonagall woman had given her. She eventually spotted the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office and sighed in relief. "Canary ...Cream?" she pronounced to the gargoyle who instantly responded by swivelling back to reveal the staircase to the headmasters office. Fleur made her way up the narrow staircase carefully. She knocked twice in the proper Beauxbatons fashion, giving the headmaster the respect she felt he had earned. After hearing a quiet "enter," from the other side, she pushed open the door and couldn't help letting out a small gasp when she saw a magical menagerie of relics that made Gringotts look like a common grocery store in comparison.

"Ah, Miss Delacour," Dumbledore greeted her, eyes twinkling as ever, "right on time."

He indicated to a very comfortable looking armchair. Fleur sat on the edge of the chair, trying not to touch the ancient and crusted yellow sweets she could see lodged down the sides, and eyed Dumbledore with apprehension. "Professor, I am 30 minutes late for our appointment," she stated, nonplussed.

Dumbledore steepled his fingers and peered at Fleur over the brim of his half-moon spectacles. "By a stroke of luck I too was delayed. Had you been here at the requested time, you would have been alone and I rather think the temptation to tinker with my relics might have overwhelmed you. Therefore it occurs to me that you are, in fact, right on time." Fleur, knowing what Dumbledore said was true, was affronted to feel a blush begin to spread on her cheeks. 'Pull yourself together! You are a Delacour, not a simpering schoolgirl!' she thought to herself in exasperation.

As she struggled to regain control of her face, she made eye contact with the headmaster, who was grinning like he had just completed his first set of wizards cards. Had the old devil embarrassed her on purpose? Madame Maxime had always encouraged her to consider Albus Dumbledore a powerful man - a good man, of course, but a very powerful one. If he had been the one to fall to the dark side, perhaps there would be no wizarding community left alive today. "I told Harry Potter, not too long ago, that curiosity is not a sin but we must exercise caution. You would do well to remember that," Dumbledore continued. He let the words hang in the air for a few moments before he got up and walked around to the other side of his desk. He leaned against it slowly, stiffly, and frowned down at Fleur. "But there is something else I must ask you to exercise caution with - Miss Granger's feelings. She has a long and difficult road ahead of her and it would not do for her to be attacked from all angles." He looked at Fleur pointedly. The French witch nodded her understanding, fighting the urge to bow her head in shame. She had not really meant to play with Hermione's emotions. These humans were so fragile at times, and she often forgot to handle them with care. Fleur knew this mission was incredibly important so she resolved to make more of an effort with the younger girl.

As though he had been privy to Fleur's thought process, Dumbledore merely gave a satisfied nod and dropped the subject completely. The conversation turned swiftly to her curse-breaking experience, which was something that she felt much more comfortable discussing. After she described, in detail, each of the different things she had done for Gringotts, Dumbledore asked her permission to remove some of her memories so that they might view them in the pensieve. Fleur agreed readily, and the two of them spent an entertaining morning debating the techniques and magic she had used for a particular curse. She found it curious that the particular curse Dumbledore wanted to focus on was one that had, for whatever reason, backfired.

After what seemed like hours of dissecting and reorganizing the magical process, Dumbledore explained that he was ready to test his theory. He returned Fleur's memories to her and then opened a drawer, pulled out a heavy ring set with a black stone and placed it on his desk. Inexplicably, Fleur felt herself drawn to the object. She reached out like a child seeing a shiny toy for the first time, her eyes glazing, almost forgetting that Dumbledore was standing next to her. The headmaster gently placed a hand on her outstretched arm, making her jerk back in surprise. "Miss Delacour, as alluring as the pull of the ring is, I would strongly advise against touching it," he said, with a grimace. He waved his wand. His other hand suddenly turned black and withered, like a tree hit by lightning. "While glamour may be able to hide the sight of the damage I did to myself when I tried to place the ring on my finger, the damage is still there and I fear it will be the end of me. Might I suggest we try the method we have just devised to destroy this ring which is known to be a Horcrux?" Fleur nodded, speechless with horror. Just a few more inches and her hand would have been burned to cinders too. "Professor McGonagall did explain Horcruxes to you, yes?" Dumbledore asked. Fleur nodded.

"Come, let us see if we might save Mr Potter a task," Dumbledore encouraged her. Fleur looked at the ring for a long moment and gathered her courage. She raised her wand and pointed it at her other hand. A small cut sliced open her palm, and she allowed three small drops of crimson blood to drip on the ring while she silently recited the incantation that she and Dumbledore had devised. With a final flourish of her wand, the cut on her hand healed but before she could do any more, she was bathed in a burst of silver-blue light that exploded from the ring. Shielding her face with her arm, she spun to look at Dumbledore, who was already pointing his wand and muttering a quick spell. The light disappeared abruptly. Fleur, still holding her wand at the ready, examined the object on Dumbledore's desk carefully but without touching it. The ring was broken into two equal pieces while the curious dark stone was sitting on the desk unharmed. Fleur felt as though she had just fought a great battle rather than simply having unlocked one of the three mysteries to destroying Whorecruxes.

"Triumph, Miss Delacour!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, but with a hint of weariness in his voice, forcing her to return her attention to him rather than the ring. "I am afraid we have overrun our time. Perhaps you should go to Gryffindor Tower and find Miss Granger. Madame Hooch will be expecting you both shortly." Dumbledore smiled at her kindly. Fleur bowed her head respectfully and exited the room quietly.

When she arrived at the Gryffindor common room, Hermione had not returned from her lesson with Snape. Slightly irked, Fleur sat with Harry and Ron who were polite enough not to enquire about why she was even at Hogwarts though she could see the curiosity in their glances. She smirked, remembering what Dumbledore said about Harry. Leaning forward so that it looked to the room at large as though she were kissing him (something which immediately caused a great flurry of excited chatter), she purred in Harry's ear. "Curiosity is not a sin, but we must exercise caution, non?" She pulled away from him slowly, grinning at Ron's flabbergasted expression. Harry gulped but met her gaze with steady eyes, signaling that he understood her meaning.

Hermione shot past them as she ran through the common room and straight up into her dormitory. She slammed the door shut and threw herself onto her bed, knocking four separate copies of Hogwarts: A History onto the floor. She heard the door open behind her but didn't turn to see. She didn't give a damn who it was. Even Garius Tomkink himself would not have been welcome at this point. She was so angry, so confused, so scared, and she was ready to lash out like a wounded animal. She didn't want this responsibility; she didn't want to be entering people's minds or to be using sex magic. Hermione felt a hand gently descend upon her shoulder and begin rubbing her back as she fought this inner battle. Despite her efforts to ignore it, she found the circular motions soothing. "I can't fight this war on two fronts! I don't even want to fight it on one front!" she said in teary frustration, and she turned to face the owner of the comforting hand. She had expected it to be Ginny but she was surprised to see the blonde Veela looking down at her, with a look of compassion in her eyes that Hermione had never seen before. "'Ermione, we are late for Mademoiselle Hooch," was the only thing Fleur said. No admonishments about her selfish outbursts, no cajoling to pressure Hermione to become the heroine that everyone thinks she ought to be. Hermione found that she rather liked that Fleur didn't push her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, scrubbing a hand roughly across her eyes to wipe away the traces of tears. Hermione walked beside Fleur as they made their way out of the castle to have their final lesson with Madame Hooch, the silence between them amiable once more.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Please keep them coming! Here is a little treat for you**

Chapter 11 I will hold your hand

A fragrant breeze blew softly through the grounds of Hogwarts. It was a direct contradiction to the storm which was raging within the hearts of the two girls by the lake. Fleur stood by the water's edge allowing the gentle waves to lap over the toes of her boots, weighing a small rock in her closed fist. She took a deep calming breath, cocked back her arm and threw the rock as hard as she could. She allowed a small satisfied grin flash across her face as the rock connected with its target - a grindylow about thirty feet away. It wasn't exactly a cruel thing to do, since the grindylow was biting a mermaid who (against all common sense and in addition, possibly rule 36b, subpoint ii of the Magical Creatures Law), was trying to domesticate it like a large, if slightly bitey, puppy. The grindylow turned abruptly in an attempt to determine where the rock had come from but the mermaid regained control of it and pulled it back under the water.

Fleur turned and meandered slowly, nervously, over to where the younger witch was sitting. She stood for a moment, wondering how best to approach what was already a highly delicate situation even before that awful Hooch woman had traumatized both of them with her lewd and crude descriptions of what Fleur had previously thought was a beautiful side of magic. Hermione was staring into the distance with the same glassy-eyed expression she'd descended into around the time that Hooch brought out the charts and diagrams. Sweet Circe, the diagrams. Hermione was still twitching slightly under one eye. Fleur sighed and fought the unfamiliar desire to take both a hot and cold shower simultaneously.

She cleared her throat to announce her presence. Hermione barely seemed to notice. The twitch became slightly more pronounced. "'Ermione, would it be alright if I sat wiz you a while" she asked softly, though deliberately maintaining a respectful distance, not wanting to startle the younger witch. "I 'ave lost my appetite, but 'ave no desire to go be alone in my quarters at ze moment."

Hermione finally looked up at Fleur with fearful eyes.. She nodded and turned her gaze back to the distance, but the twitch was subsiding and one of her hands began to stroke the grass like a sleeping cat. Fleur stepped forward and sat with her back against the tree. She had no idea where Hermione's mind was but it certainly was not here. The Veela slowly reached out,just enough to place her hand on Hermione's, and then gently squeezed it. Hermione did not fight her; she simply stopped stroking the grass, feeling the warmth of Fleur's fingers pulse along her hand. She knew that the older witch would be able to tell that she was shaking but somehow she no longer cared. Her innocence had been broken on this day, broken irreparably. A stray memory of one of Hooch's diagrams flitted across her mind like a small, horrifying, sexually graphic bat. She stamped on it quickly. She didn't want to think about what could happen when she fell asleep tonight. The sun was beginning to set in the distance,. It gave the sky the illusion of having caught fire, mirroring the rage she felt burning in her heart that all this responsibility had been heaped on her own thin shoulders.

Hermione inhaled deeply, letting the spring air fill her lungs as she tried to filter out the different scents. She could pick out different things on the breeze, the thin sharp stench of something that was probably due to Hagrid's newest scheme, a tantalising whiff of Fleur's heady perfume, the scent of the lake and the water plants surroundings it, but one of her favourite smells in the world - a freshly mown lawn – overrode everything. Hermione Granger, bookworm, know-it-all and 'able to look past extraneous detail' sighed in frustration at her inability to shut off her mind.

Fleur looked at Hermione closely. The younger witch's eyes were brimming with tears that the stubborn girl was point-blank refusing to shed. She wondered if Hermione thought that if the tears never left her eyes then perhaps the pain that she felt was not real. She was still looking very pale and that, combined with the subtle shivers that Fleur was detecting from her hand, made the French witch worry.

"Mademoiselle Hooch 'as certainly opened my eyes," Fleur began slowly, seeking an opening point for the conversation she knew they should have sooner rather than later. Hermione tore her gaze from the setting sun, the rays glinting like jewels on the surface of the glassy lake, and turned towards Fleur. "It is a conversation I 'ad hoped to never 'ave with someone ozzer zan a very close friend. Presumably it is ze same for you, non?" she asked.

Hermione dropped her eyes to the hand that was holding hers and did not answer. She processed Fleur's words - was this compassion from the Veela? Did Fleur truly understand why Hermione felt so violated by the events of the past two days? Fleur never lowered her gaze from Hermione's face, never stopped staring at those chocolate orbs, and felt somewhat rewarded when Hermione finally met her gaze. For the first time since McGonagall's study, Hermione held eye contact with the Veela and was not surprised at all when she felt her mental and emotional barriers tremble and then dip. She allowed herself to get lost in those deep blue eyes that seemed so intense, like a calm ocean with dangerous undercurrents that could drag her out, far away from the safety of land. Hermione wondered if she had allowed herself to get caught in Fleur's thrall, but when she considered this logically, she relaxed. She did not feel the need to brag about herself to impress Fleur like she had seen boys do back in the days of the Triwizard Tournament. In fact, all she felt the need to do was to continue to bathe in the comfort of Fleur's compassionate look, as she felt a tear escape from her eye, slowly trickling its way down her face. Fleur lifted her free hand up and placed it on Hermione's cheek, wiping away the traitorous tear with her thumb without breaking the hold that Hermione had over her eyes. Fleur began to wonder if Hermione had a thrall of her own when she found she could not break eye contact with her, but she dismissed the thought as she felt a squeezing back in her other hand. When had Hermione laced her fingers between Fleur's own?

Hermione gave a sudden but violent shiver and Fleur felt her heart plummet when she tore her gaze from Hermione's eyes. It was then that she noticed the goosebumps on the younger witch's arm and though she wanted to more than anything pull Hermione to her and comfort her physically and emotionally, Fleur restrained herself. "You are freezing, ma petite loutre," the Veela spoke softly, removing her jacket and draping it over Hermione's shoulders. The younger witch shifted forward gratefully to accommodate the gesture. Hermione searched Fleur's face with something close to wonderment, though she did her best to hide it. Just a few moments ago, Hermione couldn't stop her brain from racing, now she couldn't get the damn thing to work at all. Somehow, Fleur seemed to quiet her world and Hermione, while a little thrown by this, thought that she rather liked the calm.

Hermione's gaze fell to her small hand, clasped tightly under Fleur's, as she finally found her voice. "Those things that Madame Hooch was talking about...I...I don't think I can do that. I mean, it's not me at all. I've always been taught that those are private things - it's old fashioned, I know, but-"

Fleur reached up and placed a finger over Hermione's lips, stopping her mid-sentence. "Eet is safe to say 'Ermione, that this 'ole Whorecrux zing will change you. Eet will change us. If you do not zink zat it 'as already changed you, then you are only fooling yourself." Fleur explained tenderly, though she didn't know where these words were coming from but they felt right to say. "You 'ave a choice 'Ermione, you can let eet change you for ze better or you can let eet change you for ze worse. I know you well enough to know zat you cannot walk away from zis and so I zink you 'ave already decided to let zis change you for ze better, non?" Fleur asked the question and Hermione could only nod and suppress a choking half-sob as more of those traitorous tears spilled down her cheeks. "Oui, you are strong and courageous and 'Arry Potter is very lucky to 'ave you as a friend," Fleur was lost in Hermione's deep brown eyes again and with each tear that fell from them her heart broke a little for this young witch whose life had been turned upside down.

Fleur registered the red flag and alarm bells going off in the back of her head but she refused to let herself break from Hermione's gaze. '_Foolish Veela. Do not fall for this one,_' she thought to herself exasperated, pushing it to the back of her mind right along with those damn red flags and alarm bells and putting them in a box labelled Things Future Fleur Can Deal With. "'Ermione, I will 'old your 'and through zis, Let me guide you, stop fighting me and I swear to you we will get through zis together and I promise to you zat when you say enough, I will take you away from eet all." Fleur spoke in a whisper even though there was no one around to hear their conversation. She felt the incredible vulnerability of the situation tremble like a spiderweb in a light breeze.

Hermione stared at their hands, still intertwined, then up again at Fleur's face. She searched it for any hint of deception. She searched herself to see if it was possible to trust this Veela, who was turning out to be so different from what she had expected. Fleur pulled her hand from Hermione's grasp and from her face; Hermione instantly felt the loss of warmth, comfort and support. She scowled for a moment as she fought the urge to throw herself at Fleur to stop her from leaving. "Fleur," she said, hesitating, "thank you." She knew that it sounded like the lamest response ever to what Fleur had just offered her but the Veela merely beamed in response. Her whole face seemed to light up and she was even more beautiful than Hermione had ever seen her. The younger witch, cleared her throat. "Please just never lie to me, OK?" she asked quietly. Fleur nodded without hesitation. "I swear on my honour" she said as she got to her feet and held her hand out to Hermione.

Hermione allowed Fleur to help her up, enjoying the feel of the older witch's soft hand in hers. She permitted Fleur to guide her as she had said she would. The Veela smiled as she playfully pulled Hermione back towards the castle. She knew that she really should take the young witch to see McGonagall so that they could get started, but Hermione needed a night without worrying about saving the world. Hermione followed Fleur without protest although with shy sidelong glances and unspoken agreement, they unclasped their hands as they entered the castle. As they began to climb the main staircase, Hermione vaguely wondered where they were going, although this thought three-legged and trailing far behind the others racing around her brain – namely that she had no idea how she was going to teach Fleur the legilimency she would need to know, nor how Fleur was going to teach her the ancient magic, and was there some kind of deadline on their Whorecrux hunt? She supposed that as long as they were done with the Whorecrux hunt before Harry was done with his Horcrux hunt that would be time enough, but how long was that likely to be? Professor McGonagall had apparently left out a lot of the important details. Hermione was startled out of her thoughts when she felt Fleur's hand slide smoothly back into hers. She blinked in puzzlement. They were in an elaborate bathroom, which Hermione recognised as the prefect's bathroom. She gazed around and noticed many large gleaming taps which were already depositing coloured water into a bathtub the size of a swimming pool.

Fleur briefly wondered what the young witch was thinking, but decided that now was not the time to pry. There would be time enough later for getting inside each others heads. Instead she walked to one of the stalls. "I will go in 'ere and undress so zat you can undress and get in ze water without worrying about 'iding yourself from me." Hermione stood stunned for a moment, but Fleur had disappeared into the stall without waiting for a response. Her deep brown eyes turned slowly towards the warm and inviting bath water, knowing full well that it was probably exactly what she needed right now to relax her, then back to the stall that held a potentially naked Fleur. She quickly calculated her options as the steam from the bath surrounded her. Sighing in resignation, Hermione flicked her wand and locked the door. If she was going to do this, she was bloody well certain that none of the other prefects were going to come in while she was bathing. She removed her clothes, glancing every now and again at the stall in case Fleur made a surprise early exit, folded them neatly into a pile and slipped quietly into the water. It felt heavenly. A sigh escaped from her lips as she submerged herself almost completely in the steaming bath and allowed the bubbles to settle around her.

Hermione closed her eyes and felt the heat from the bath permeate through her, washing away all the worries of the day. She registered the tentative creak as the stall door swung open and heard Fleur's bare feet padding softly across the bathroom floor. "You are already looking a better colour ma petite loutre," Fleur stated as she placed her clothing on the floor. Hermione opened her eyes automatically and glanced in the direction Fleur's voice had come from. She instantly blushed when they met a very naked Veela. The younger witch could not help herself drinking in Fleur's body - her exquisite, curvy beautiful figure. Fleur slowly stepped into the water, apparently not body-conscious at all, and was soon just a head above the surface. "Zat is an even more alluring colour on you, ma cher," Fleur said as she provocatively raised an eyebrow. The Veela was starting to wonder if Hermione had ever been kissed. The British were so odd about these matters. Perhaps she should not ask outright. Perhaps she should simply pounce on Hermione like a kitten on a piece of string. She congratulated herself mentally on her tact.

Fleur smiled as she approached Hermione, stopping before they were within arms length of each other. Hermione's eyes were half-lidded and heavy, but she was staring again at Fleur in that unnerving, intense way that made the French witch hesitate. What was Fleur to her - a friend? No, that didn't seem right. Her partner? No, that wasn't right either. Hermione scowled as she tried to get her mind to label the French witch accurately. Fleur let out a chuckle and held her hand out to Hermione, who lifted her hand slowly out of the bubbles to meet it. The Veela pulled Hermione towards her and turned her so that she was standing with her back to Fleur. The younger witch breathed, an exhale full of tremulous anticipation. Her mind began to calm again as she felt a soapy sponge begin to gently rub her shoulders.

Fleur moved the sponge in circles across Hermione's shoulders and began to work her way very slowly down Hermione's back, "When I was a girl, and I was afraid or worried, my mother used to wash my back as she soothed me. As I grew older it 'as always been something that soothed me. I 'ave even done zis for Gabrielle when she was worried about going to Beauxbaton for ze first time," Fleur said in a low voice as she explained her actions to Hermione, who had not moved a muscle. Fleur took that as a good sign – the younger witch had not run out the door, there had been no yelling and for the most part Hermione seemed to be fairly relaxed. Fleur allowed the sponge to skim over the top of Hermione's buttocks before stopping. She soaped up the sponge and handed it to Hermione. Time to step it up a little. _'Le jeux commence_,' she thought, steadying herself. "Would you mind?" she asked in a whisper as she turned her back to Hermione.

Taking a deep breath Hermione turned and examined what she could see of the French witch, which was mostly her head and the curve of her slender neck since hot water and bubbles hid the rest. Hermione stepped forward, plucking up her Gryffindor courage, gently pushed the blonde's hair over her shoulder and began to rub the sponge in small circles imitating what Fleur had done. The only difference was that Hermione's hand shook uncontrollably for the first few moments. Eventually she lifted her free hand and placed it on Fleur's waist as though to steady herself but did not stop the motion with the sponge. The addition of Hermione's other hand was not lost to Fleur. The older witch turned her head to look over her shoulder at Hermione. She was surprised to note that Hermione's lips were hovering over Fleur's neck, far closer than the Veela had expected. Fleur raised her arm, running her fingers slowly along the younger witch's shoulder until it landed on the back of Hermione's head. Fleur's fingers tugged in Hermione's hair gently, guiding her down to her neck. As Hermione's lips met Fleur's neck for the first time, a sound escaped Fleur's lips that was somewhere between a low moan and a desperate growl as she automatically closed her eyes. '_Mon dieu I am going to melt!'_

Hermione pulled back a little. Fleur could feel the uncertainty there, as physically as she could feel Hermione's cool breath against her own flushed skin. The Veela reached over, taking the now forgotten sponge from the younger witch's hand and cast it aside. She took Hermione's hand and entwined her fingers between her own. "I will 'old your 'and through all of zis," she whispered as she leaned forward slowly, so painfully slowly that she could feel her heart hammer in anticipation for it to be now pleasenowpleasenowpleasenow, this was killing her and yet somehow she felt that she wouldn't have it any other way, and finally, their lips barely touching, the two girls kissed. Hermione closed her eyes as she felt a fire lick through her body, blinding her senses with an overload of excited synapses, who had been waiting years for this performance and were now going all out. Burning, she stepped closer, pressing her lips against Fleur's more firmly, very much aware that their bodies were now touching in most intimate places. Fleur probed her tongue against Hermione's lips and to her surprise, the younger witch allowed access to her mouth.

Hermione felt Fleur's tongue caressing her own and the flames blazed through her as she wrapped her other arm around the French witch's curvy waist. Fleur's free hand slid around, resting on the small of Hermione's back as their kiss grew in passion and intensity. Eventually Hermione's need for oxygen overrode everything else in her (including the synapses who were complaining quite vociferously that they were not even close to finished) and she reluctantly pulled away from Fleur's lips. The Veela pulled their entwined hands up to her lips and kissed the back of Hermione's hand as they stood in the water. Hermione rested her head on Fleur's shoulder and sighed. 'M_aybe I can do this after all,' _she thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Thank you all for your patience – I know there has been a delay in getting a new chapter up.**

**Also it goes without saying – I am not JK Rowling, I don't own Harry Potter – or any of the other characters/verse**

Chapter 12 Boundaries

Hermione anxiously shifted from foot to foot outside Fleur's door. The urge to give herself a pep talk grew every second, as did the nervous spasm under her eye that had reappeared at intermittent intervals since the talk with Hooch. She clasped one hand over the offending twitch and took a few deep, calming breaths, then raised her other hand to knock.

She inwardly groaned at her own awkwardness as her hand faltered on its way to connect with the solid wood. She knew that the next step was to teach Fleur the Legilimency she had learned, and in turn Fleur would teach her how to draw upon ancient magic, so she ought to be excited; not even the restricted section could teach her these things - she had seen some of the books Harry and Ron had borrowed from that section of the library (including a particularly suggestive set of engravings regarding wood nymphs that she had pretended to ignore) and they had not even come close to the amount of detail one required in order to master the art of the ancient magics. She shook her head; the thought of her furtive glimpse of the engravings had only brought back memories of those diagrams that Madam Hooch had used. A shudder coursed down her spine and she felt her face flush. "Bloody hell," she muttered to herself as she raised her fist again and knocked resolutely on the door to Fleur's quarters.

On the other side of the door Fleur started, instinctively smoothing her skirt down and then flushed, mentally chiding herself. Was she actually preening in an effort to look good for this 'little girl'? She clucked her tongue impatiently as she glided over to the door and jerked it open more roughly than she'd meant to. "Good morning, 'Ermione," Fleur said as she stepped aside to let the younger witch in. The Veela closed the door behind her guest and turned to drink in the sight before her. Hermione, who had seemed to be instantly drawn to the large bookcase brimming with texts and books, some older than Dumbledore himself, had wandered over without a word and was standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to read some of the titles. Fleur couldn't help smiling as Hermione swept some stray hairs behind her ear as she studied the books before her. It was entirely possible that Fleur was still lovedrunk over their encounter last night and not in full possession of her mental faculties. She had not been able to sleep afterwards and now she was positively gawking at Hermione, who for all intents and purposes appeared to be oblivious to the fact that Fleur was even in the room.

Hermione stared hard at the biggest book on the shelf. She knew that she had read it three times now but could not for all the sugar quills in Honeydukes have told anyone what the title of it was. She couldn't be certain but she thought that Fleur was staring at her. Hermione could barely see anything out of the corner of her eye because her damn bushy hair was in the way, but she could practically feel the French witch's gaze prickling her skin. Under the pretence of being able to better read the book titles, she swept her uncontrollable mane behind her ear and instantly had it confirmed. Fleur was definitely staring at her. The younger witch felt a satisfied smile grace her lips fleetingly before gently clearing her throat. "I would very much like to borrow some of these books for a bit of light reading before bed, if that's alright with you?" she asked.

Fleur was unceremoniously ripped from her memories (where a naked Hermione had been standing pleasantly close in the swimming-pool-sized bath tub) and was dumped back into the present where the conversation was much less sexy. "Please feel free to 'elp yourself to... anyzing... in zis room you desire," Fleur answered, somewhat breathily, as she moved into the centre of the room and sat with her back to the young witch. She really needed to get a grip on herself - this was becoming embarrassing. Hermione turned to look at the Veela, startled by her response. Fleur had brushed her long silvery-blonde hair over one shoulder leaving one side of her neck deliciously exposed and vulnerable. Hermione's eyes swept over the soft skin. It was so intoxicating, so inviting. She shook her head a little and crossed the study to sit in a winged armchair, hyper-aware of the French witch's presence. _'This is ridiculous_,' she thought to herself. _'I should be focusing on this whole Whorecrux thing but instead all I can think about is that kiss last night! Come on, Granger, pull yourself together.'_ Hermione lifted her gaze to meet Fleur's, whose eyes were sparkling as though she could hear these thoughts. "Have you ever practiced Occlumency or Legilimency before?" she asked the French witch quickly, trying to roadblock the path her mind was taking.

Fleur sighed. It was obvious their little game of flirting was over, at least for the time being. Hermione had, with one short and simple question, reminded her that there were more important things going on right now than a slight acceleration of her heart whenever she was in the younger witch's presence. "Non," she answered simply but then chose to elaborate due to the puzzled look crossing Hermione's face, which was more cute than her patented scowl if that was even possible. "Veela are intuitive - we are unable to tell what exactly eet is zat you are thinking, but we may 'ave an idea of ze general subject," she paused, hesitating, before she added cautiously, "particularly when eet comes to affairs of ze 'eart." At this revelation, Hermione's face flushed considerably as she processed what Fleur was saying. She resolved to herself that she would work hard on keeping her mind off Fleur's perfectly toned legs, her exquisite breasts and her utterly kissable lips. She could feel the twitch under her eye threatening to resurface. Perhaps thinking of biscuits would help. Or a naked Malfoy. Or Malfoy eating biscuits naked, spraying crumbs everywhere. Hermione stood, angling her body away from Fleur as she tried to compose herself and stop her terrifying train of thought. She cleared her throat as she began to pace the room, allowing her logical side to take over. "Um, I see. Well, Professor Snape taught me by simply attacking aggressively without warning and demanding that I defend myself, but then he is a complete arse and since I am not, I have no intention of replicating his methods. I have decided that I will use legilimency on you first and this way hopefully I can teach you the basics. Then you can practice trying to use it on me. By doing this you will get the idea of how Occlumency works and you can hopefully learn that too. Does this seem like a reasonable approach?" As she finished her statement Hermione perched herself back on the winged armchair, confident that now they were down to business and she had something to focus on she would be able to control this ridiculous lust she appeared to be suffering from.

Fleur nodded at her, for the first time looking a little apprehensive. Hermione thought she knew why. "Fleur, you will be able to track the direction I take in your mind. If at any point you think I am heading somewhere you don't want me to go, and you find you cannot control me then simply tell me no and I promise I will back off." Fleur raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in disbelief and scoffed. Hermione stepped forward and, bending down, took one of Fleur's hands in her own. "This relationsh- um, I mean, partnersh- oh hell you know what I mean, this whatever-it-is that we have been thrown into has to be built on trust otherwise we may as well forget this mission. Just as you asked me to trust you when you told me that you would hold my hand, the same goes for me. You need to know that when I tell you something it is the truth. When I tell you that I will back off, I genuinely mean it. Merlin knows what, or more to the point, who, we will be asked to..." Hermione coloured slightly, "um, 'do', during this mission but I am pretty sure we are going to see each other in more than one compromising situation, and I expect we will even come to depend on the other to free us from these. We have to trust each other Fleur. We have to."

Fleur had not been entirely certain that the younger witch had fully understood the implications of their predicament until this point, but it seemed that the younger witch had an even better grasp of it than she did herself. She had to admit to herself that she was rather impressed. She also realised that her heart had melted even more at the vulnerability Hermione was showing, not to mention the trust she was placing in Fleur. The realisation hit Fleur that the younger witch was right. She was going to have to not only trust but actually depend on Hermione more than she had ever done with anyone before in her entire life. She smiled at Hermione in what she hoped was a reassuring manner that did not belie her nerves, and replied quietly, "oui 'Ermione, I trust you."

The moment Fleur uttered her response, she felt a warm presence in her mind. Fleur had heard about legilimency before, albeit only brief snippets of information, and generally what she had heard was that it was an unpleasant and tiresome feeling. She had been bracing herself for this, and had not expected the gentle, soothing feeling she was now experiencing, as if someone had wrapped in a blanket and was coddling her affectionately. She saw images of that night in Professor McGonagall's study flash through her mind and smiled to herself. Hermione, true to her word, was respectfully selecting only neutral memories to sift through. "Merlin's flaming beard, my hair still looks awful from the back. I really should do something about that..." Hermione muttered under her breath. Fleur only smirked in response. From what she remembered from the night in the bathroom, the younger witch had looked rather nice from behind. Hermione continued muttering to herself as she pressed on to other memories, although she had stayed focused on the same evening. Fleur felt a blush rising in her pale cheeks as she realised that the memory Hermione was looking at was Fleur in bed that night, tossing and turning. "Non," she said quickly, knowing that if she allowed Hermione to continue, the younger witch would come across the Veela masturbating furiously and that was too much embarrassment for either of them at this stage. Fleur felt the pressure ease and after a moment felt the memories wander back to Professor McGonagall's study. She found this boring so she tried to push Hermione towards something a little more interesting. At first it was difficult to figure out exactly how to do this, but she soon got the hang of it and managed to nudge Hermione into the memory of their little bathroom encounter.

Hermione allowed Fleur to guide her into the memory, inwardly marvelling at how quickly the French witch had grasped the concept of legilimency, but she realised that she was staring at herself in the bathtub naked and instinctively tried to retreat to something else. As hard as Hermione fought to leave the memory, Fleur fought harder to hold her there. Hermione gave in and watched as the kiss happened slowly, languidly, and she noted that while she had closed her eyes during their kiss, Fleur had not. In fact Fleur's eyes had widened when they had kissed, right up until Hermione had stepped into the kiss at which point Fleur's eyes appeared to almost roll back into her head. She smiled at this realisation and gently extracted herself from Fleur's mind. Both witches were startled to find that not only were they no longer sitting, but they were so standing close to each other that their bodies were almost touching. Both girls lingered there as their eyes locked in a battle for dominance, both fighting the same internal struggle. Fleur simply didn't want to push the young witch, knowing the importance of protecting the trust she had instilled in her only moments ago, not to mention her own growing desire that she didn't even want to acknowledge. Hermione, on the other hand, was fighting to restrain herself because there were far more important things going on that needed addressing, and she would never forgive herself if she somehow ruined the entire future of the Wizarding world because she couldn't keep her pants on.

Hermione was quickly losing this battle - her mind had begun to point out that, ironically, this whole mission was in fact about taking her pants off, not keeping them on, and wouldn't now be a perfect time to start practising that? She could feel Fleur's sweet warm breath gently caressing her face; she could feel the presence of Fleur's soft, luscious lips mere inches beyond the boundaries of her own. She could feel her body, which seemed to be about as capable of control around Fleur Delacour as a kitten in a catnip factory, responding to the proximity of the French witch's body. Fleur decided to rescue Hermione from her inner turmoil and took a step back, forcing a smile as she did so. Hermione let out a shaky breath that she didn't even know she had been holding. "Right, well Fleur, you seemed to pick that up quite well," Hermione said, almost stumbling over the words. She sat back in her chair and pushed on regardless. "Now you should try it on me, so that you can see my defensive barriers." Hermione was absentmindedly smoothing her skirt down as she took deep breaths and fought to regain her composure; she cast a quick inquisitive look over at Fleur and felt her heart soar as it appeared that Fleur seemed to be doing the same thing.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Everything you recognise is JK Rowling's :o)**  
**Also thanks for reading – stay awesome!**

Chapter 13 Trust

Hermione conjured a glass of cold water and took a few slow sips before setting the glass on the table beside her winged armchair. She was now considerably calmer than she had been a few moments ago. Fleur waited patiently for her instructions. "The spell, as I am sure you know, is pronounced 'legilimens'. It is fairly standard although I must warn you, it consumes a considerable amount of magic and energy when cast by a beginner. The wand movement is more of a jab than a flourish." Hermione demonstrated the motion and smiled as Fleur mimicked her movements almost perfectly. "Yes, that's it." She was pleased that the Veela was picking this up rather quickly. Hermione began to re-evaluate her previous opinion that Fleur was just some sex-crazed bimbo without a brain. She wasn't really sure where this idea had come from originally, given that Fleur had been chosen by the Goblet of Fire from the entire Beauxbaton group to represent her school and must therefore have been the best possible candidate, but she quickly swept the uncomfortable thought aside. Perhaps Fleur's level of intelligence even rivalled her own. Rather than irritating her, the idea was intriguing.

"Legilimenz" she heard the French witch say, slightly tentatively, but Hermione was unconcerned. Since the debacle with Snape she had considered it best to keep her barriers up at all times. She wouldn't put it past the slimy git to be skulking around in the shadows in Gryffindor Tower, waiting to attack her just to prove a point. She smiled as she felt a soft, tentative probing against her mental brick wall, which is why it took her by surprise when she felt what she could only describe as 'Fleur' pressing against it - not just one brick but against the whole thing at once. She smiled at her friend's boldness and examined the pressure that Fleur was exerting. Her mind wanted to let Fleur in. She redoubled her efforts to keep the Veela out but she could not ignore the obvious difference between Fleur's probing versus Snape's. His was invasive, exhausting and unpleasant; in contrast Fleur's was gentle, soothing and... quite lovely. Hermione made a mental note to examine this in more detail later. "Fleur, back off a little. I am going to drop my barriers and let you in." Immediately the 'Fleur' pressure lifted. The younger witch felt a prickle of disappointment but as she lowered her barriers the disappointment evaporated instantly when her mind was enveloped in 'Fleur'. Hermione was completely comfortable as she allowed Fleur to flick through memories; if her brain was a library then Fleur was wandering through the section labelled 'fun', because images of Hermione and her friends laughing were flashing through her consciousness one after the other. After allowing Fleur to roam for a few minutes, Hermione began to guide her back to her own memories of that night in McGonagall's study. The French witch flowed along with the stream of memories under Hermione's guidance until she saw the same memories surface that they had just witnessed in her own mind and she began to resist. Fleur knew where she wanted to go - back to the bathroom. After a few moments of intense struggling Fleur gained control, much to Hermione's chagrin, and smiled to herself as she pushed against the current to reach the younger witch's memory of the bathroom incident. Disgruntled that she had lost the power struggle and stubbornly unwilling to allow herself to get flustered again, Hermione threw her walls up, thrusting Fleur out of her mind hard enough to physically push her backwards onto the couch.

Fleur recovered quickly from the shock and Hermione saw anger flash over her pretty face. The Veela was on her feet in a heartbeat, wand raised to attack. "LEGILIMENS!" she yelled, mentally shoving against Hermione's walls as hard as she could. The young witch was fighting fiercely to keep her out but it seemed that Fleur was stronger and quickly began to win the battle of wills. Hermione felt anger course through her veins as Fleur broke through her defences, but rather than try to thrust her out Hermione focused on trapping the French witch only in certain memories she chose at random. As they struggled for dominance once again, Hermione felt nausea rising in her throat but refused to give up. Fleur was relentless and moments later Hermione could no longer fight it, Fleur had won and not only were they watching the memory of the entire bathroom kiss, but to Hermione it felt as though she was reliving it. Suddenly her world went blank.

Hermione woke up, exhausted staring at a ceiling she did not recognise. She tried to remember going to sleep but couldn't. The last thing she could remember was the bathroom kiss but she knew that couldn't be right. She soon realised she was on the floor and her head was in someone's lap. The younger witch tried to turn her head to look at the person, but the single small movement caused her head to swim and swoop dizzyingly. Her eyes automatically closed before she could see who was holding her. Hermione wracked her brain to try and remember what had happened as she felt a cool hand gently descend upon her forehead, stroking it with tenderness. "Be still a moment, ma petite loutre," Fleur said in a soothing voice. Hermione obeyed, but only because she did not want to endure the indignity of vomiting all over the floor. Fleur continued to stroke her head as Hermione fought to recall why she was on the floor and then there it was: the memory of the kiss. Hermione wanted to be furious with Fleur for being so stubborn and pushing so hard, but as she considered it she remembered that in fact she had encouraged the Veela to break through her own barriers. It seemed they were more similar in temperament than Hermione had originally thought.

Hermione sat up slowly, with Fleur's assistance, and tried to drink from the proffered glass of water. However, she was shaking so much that the glass rattled against her teeth several times before she was able to take a sip. Fleur summoned a blanket, eyes large with worry, and wrapped it around Hermione despite the fact that she knew the shaking was due to exhaustion rather than feeling cold. "We have to continue! You need to know legilimency and I need to study the ancient magic..." Hermione was trying to push herself up off the floor. "'Ermione, you are even more exhausted than I am. I zink we need a break. 'Ow about we 'ave some lunch and zen take it from zere?" Fleur asked, cutting short Hermione's protests by getting up off the floor, helping the younger witch onto the couch and tucking the blanket securely around her. Fleur left the study through the door to her sleeping quarters to summon a house elf, giving Hermione a little space which the younger witch gratefully welcomed.

A few minutes later Dobby entered the room, with a tray carrying lunch for two. He eyed Hermione with some concern as he placed the tray on a nearby table. "Miss Granger does not look well," the elf squeaked anxiously. Hermione smiled reassuringly at Dobby who was watching Fleur with narrowed, suspicious eyes as she entered the room and sat in the chair that Hermione had previously occupied, "Should Dobby fetch Harry Potter and his Wheezy?" Dobby asked. The younger witch smiled at the house elf, finding his concern endearing. She swung her legs off the couch and sat upright before looking at Dobby.

"Thank you Dobby but I am alright, just a little tired. This lunch is just the thing that I need to help me feel better," she told him. The house elf nodded in acceptance, although he cast an accusatory glance at Fleur, before snapping his fingers and disapparating. As soon as he was gone, Fleur got to her feet and walked over to Hermione. The Veela handed the younger witch a vial full of the same green potion that Snape had offered her (she had researched it after the incident in the dungeons and found it was merely a harmless invigoration draught - in fact her year was due to study it at the end of term, which Snape no doubt knew). Hermione took it and swallowed it down in one gulp. The restoration of her energy levels was almost immediate. The two witches set about eating their lunch in silence and once they were done, Fleur summoned Dobby to clear their plates away. Hermione was about to scoff in disgust at the way the French witch treated her friend, even if he was a house elf, when she saw his delight as Fleur offered him a sock and a sickle for his troubles. Hermione stared in wonder and surprise at Fleur and couldn't hold back a smile.

Once the house elf had disapparated a second time, Fleur gave Hermione an appraising look. Hermione decided to ignore this. She felt fine after eating and she didn't want Fleur to think of her as weak. "Shall we continue?" she asked. The French witch, apparently satisfied that Hermione had recovered, responded by raising her wand. Hermione felt a rush of excitement course through her but tried to ignore it. "I suggest we take turns trying to penetrate each others defences, although this time we should stop once it gets intense - otherwise one or both of us may be to ill to continue." Fleur nodded her agreement at the logic of this statement. Hermione felt the now familiar feel of Fleur's essence pressing against her barriers. The Veela chose a more systematic approach this time, testing each section of the wall for weaknesses. Hermione was vaguely reminded of velociraptors but remained focused on keeping Fleur out. Disappointed that this approach had failed, the French witch simply threw all her power against the wall. She could hear Hermione's breathing intensify and knew that the girl was struggling to maintain the barrier. A moment later Fleur was rewarded by Hermione's walls lowering enough for her to wriggle inside, although she did take a more cautious and respectful approach, heading back towards the 'fun' section and revelling in Hermione's happy memories. Fleur's behaviour made Hermione curious but since this was not the time for idle speculation, chose to nudge Fleur with her mind. Rather than attacking another part of her, Fleur withdrew entirely. The younger witch took this as an invitation and gave Fleur a few moments to raise her own barriers, before attempting to breach them.

Fleur decided to go with an impenetrable hedge rather than an unsightly wall, much like the maze in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament had looked. While she agreed that Hermione's wall was effective and practical, she saw no reason why her own barrier should be... unsightly. It was so _British_. This took Hermione by surprise as she approached the hedge. It looked prickly but had flowers on it, much like a giant rose bush. She tentatively put her hand out to touch it and found that the hedge parted immediately to allow her access. Hermione sighed in exasperation and pulled back. "Fleur, you are supposed to be keeping me out!" Hermione scolded. She was beginning to tire again and it was harder to stop the frustration from bubbling up. Fleur shook her head in bewilderment. "I do not know why zat 'appened, maybe eet is zat I trust you," the French witch responded defensively. Hermione considered this, remembering how she had felt the first time Fleur pressed against her wall. She pursed her lips. "Try to imagine I am someone that you don't want in your head, then. I'm going to try again. Be ready." Hermione raised her wand and re-entered Fleur's mind, facing the hedge again she reached out and this time she met a solid object. The younger witch began to attack, trying different tactics to get past the barrier, satisfied that the Veela had at least grasped the basic idea very quickly. After a few minutes of testing she tried the same Wronski feint that she had with Snape and was delighted to note that it also worked with Fleur. She strolled through some of Fleur's childhood paths and noted that a lot of her happiest memories featured her younger sister, Gabrielle and a very worn stuffed rabbit. She sifted through the memories, recognising that indeed family was quite a large feature of Fleur's life. A glimpse of Fleur's grandmother piqued her curiosity and she quickly followed that memory in search of more. Hermione was about to enter another memory when she felt herself being thrust out of Fleur's mind and back onto the couch, much the same way Fleur had been thrown backwards earlier.

Before Hermione even had a chance to recover, Fleur was towering over her, an expression of fury twisting her beautiful features. "Zat is private!" she spat at Hermione. The young witch's eyes widened in fear. She remained perfectly still - she had seen something flash across Fleur's face and it wasn't an emotion. It had been something else...something definitely not human. Hermione was afraid and had no problem with admitting it. She could tell that Fleur was fighting to control herself and again she felt she was teetering on the brink of destroying their fledgling partnership. "Fleur, I told you that all you needed to do was tell me 'no' and I would back off. I won't go for that memory again or any memory relating to your grandmother if you don't want me to. I give you my word," Hermione said in a calm, even voice. The older witch was still standing over her, chest heaving with deep gulping breaths. Hermione reached up and gently squeezed Fleur's hand reassuringly. Fleur seemed to settle and become more in control of herself. The Veela's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she tried to pull away from the young witch fearing that her aggressive outburst might have ruined the trust they had built up. Hermione held onto Fleur's hand and pulled her down onto the couch beside her, then rather boldly put her arms around Fleur's shoulders and simply held her. Fleur melted into her arms willingly and relaxed, leaning her head on Hermione's shoulder. "Je suis désolé," Fleur whispered, then realised she had said it in French and tried again, "I am sorry."

Hermione squeezed her reassuringly. She had clearly hit a nerve, and made a mental note to try to avoid doing so in future. "It's alright Fleur. I think we can safely say that you have grasped the basics of legilimency and Occlumency," Hermione replied, giggling a little from sheer pent up tension. She felt the body against her giggle as well and then take a deep shuddering breath. Hermione hoped that Fleur was getting the same level of comfort from the embrace as she was, because she honestly felt they could sit like this forever.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Thank you for the awesome reviews, please keep them coming. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**As per usual anything you recognise belongs to JK not me**

Chapter 14 A Lesson in Blood

"Tom Riddle iz not entirely wrong when 'e claims that ze might of magic comes down to blood." Fleur explained to the brown-eyed witch sitting on the couch opposite her. She held up a pale hand to silence the protests that were about to tumble from Hermione's lips. "But 'is mistakes lie in 'is belief zat it comes down to mere _breeding_." The Veela got up from her chair and walked over to the desk, picking up the sword of Godric Gryffindor and bringing it back over to her chair. She examined the heavy item closely, turning it over in her hands. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the relic. Her emotions regarding the French witch had been all but forgotten now that she was distracted by an opportunity for learning. Fleur set the sword on a table in the centre of the room. She considered the bright young witch before her. The sheer importance of the lesson that she was about to give to Hermione had allowed the Veela, for the time being, to also overcome her lust for the bushy-haired witch. "Can you tell me what you know about goblin-made weapons, specifically zis sword?" Fleur asked Hermione as she gestured to the object in question.

Hermione looked at the sword laying on the table and tried to recall what she had read in 'Hogwarts: A History'. She silently thanked Garius Tomkink for helping her to once again avoid the pitfalls of ignorance as she began to recite the span of her knowledge. "The sword of Godric Gryffindor was forged by goblins from an element referred to in lay terms as 'Goblin's silver'. The element itself is said to be indestructible, and anything made from it has, so far, absorbed its target's powers, making the power of the weapon increase with every use." Hermione looked at Fleur as she finished, expecting a response. Fleur only raised an eyebrow at her. Pleased to be allowed to show off for once, Hermione decided to continue, brows furrowing in concentration. "Based on what you have already hinted at, if the 'might of magic', as you so barbarically put it, is within our blood then it stands to reason that if the sword of Gryffindor was used to wound a person then they would be unable to heal the wound using magic because the sword would have absorbed the magic from the blood around the wound." Hermione finished in a rush, feeling quite satisfied with herself. Fleur's mouth had fallen open in astonishment. She had not expected Hermione to make these connection so quickly. Brightest witch of her age, Merlin's star-studded thermal underpants! That statement possibly needed a bit of revision. Brightest witch of the _century_ might be a touch more accurate.

Fleur closed her mouth, aware she'd been gaping in a most un-Delacour-like fashion, got up from her seat and picked up the sword, "Let us test your theory," the Veela said, and quickly drew the sword across own her arm, causing a 6-inch diagonal gash to open, slightly deeper than she had intended. Hermione shot to her feet in a panic. "BLOODY HELL, FLEUR!" the younger witch yelled as she leapt to the bleeding Veela's side and firmly placed her hand on the wound. Hermione guided Fleur to the couch, grabbing at the blanket and pressing it against the wound. Her anger heightened when she heard the French witch quietly chuckle, "Are you not a witch 'Ermione?" she asked the young girl, who seemed to be warring between healing Fleur and running her through with the sword. Hermione took a deep breath and drew out her wand. "_Vulnera Sanentur," _she murmured as she held the wand over Fleur's wound. She gently removed the blanket and noted that while the bleeding had stopped, the wound was far from healed. Puzzled, she raised her wand again. _"Tergio"_ This time she had whispered it and the wound was now clean, but still made no sign of knitting together. Fleur raised a questioning eyebrow as Hermione cast _Vulnera Sanentur_ again_, _followed closely by _Episkey._ Relief flooded the younger witch's face as the wound finally closed, although an angry red scar remained seared into the delicate flesh of Fleur's arm.

Hermione got up from her seat beside Fleur and began to process what had just happened. "I hardly think a practical demonstration was necessary," Hermione snapped in a low and dangerous tone. She did not like the idea that she or her education could be the cause of scars on Fleur's beautiful body. The Veela blinked slowly in surprise - she had obviously startled Hermione. The French witch rose to her feet. "I am sorry that my actions alarmed you, but zis practical lesson is ze most efficient way I could zink of to teach you what I need you to know." Fleur's apology was punctuated by one finger gently raising Hermione's chin so that they were again looking into each other's eyes before she continued, "I 'ope that you trust me 'Ermione. Believe me when I tell you zat zere is no magic zat you or your Madam Pomfrey know that will remove this mark on my arm. 'Owever wiz your permission I will teach you to use your own blood to 'eal my scar. Zis is important because it iz a small leap from 'ealing to destroying, comprende?" Hermione nodded once at the French witch who smiled at her reassuringly as she placed the offending sword back on the table, took Hermione's hand and led her to sit on the couch. "I wish for you to use legilimency on me please, 'Ermione."

Hermione easily entered Fleur's mind as soon as she was asked to, although she was still inwardly seething about the shock Fleur had given her. _'Honestly, what kind of person just slices their limbs open for demonstrative purposes? Bloody French and their stupid flair for the dramatic!_' She was pleased to see that the thorny hedges were still there but Fleur dropped them as soon as she felt Hermione's presence in her mind. Hermione wandered past the boundary line and was instantly bombarded with images of Fleur with Madame Maxime in private lessons. The images flashed past in rapid succession, too fast for Hermione to examine properly. She nudged Fleur mentally to slow down slightly and began to control the rate and direction of the flow. Hermione's eyes widened. She was learning more about magic in these brief moments than she had in all her years at Hogwarts. The young witch used the memories like a trip to an extensive library and gleaned as much knowledge from them as she could. Fleur sat there patiently, content to be along for the ride and again feeling oddly comforted by the presence of this young witch in her mind. Hermione finally withdrew from Fleur's mind and while she was satisfied that she had learned what she had needed, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just cheated on her N.E.W.T's - however as soon as the thought entered her mind she shook it away. There was much more at stake here than academic achievement, and like Hooch had said, little room for ego either.

Hermione turned her focus onto Fleur. Without a word being spoken, Hermione drew her wand and caused a small cut to form on the palm of her hand. Fleur's eyes studied Hermione's face as the younger witch put into practice what she had just learned. The Gryffindor clenched her fist tightly for a moment, then opened her hand palm up. The crimson blood dribbled slowly across her palm in a rivulet of redemption. She raised her hand and turned it slowly, allowing the blood to trickle down her hand and drip onto the French witch's scar. Hermione whispered the incantation and was surprised to see the scar on Fleur's arm fade right before her eyes. She looked up at the Veela and grinned, genuinely pleased with herself and the feat that she had just managed. Fleur smiled back at Hermione with pride as she raised her own wand and healed the wound on Hermione's palm.

"Very well done 'Ermione. I see Dumbledore was not exaggerating when he spoke of your abilities," Fleur said as she pulled her gaze from the young witch and stood up. She cleaned the blood that had been on the blanket, both of their robes and on the sword with a quick Scourgify and then returned the sword to the desk with a soft _thunk_. Dumbledore was expecting it back this evening, presumably not covered in bodily fluids. Hermione found that she could not read the French witch's emotions at all - was she genuinely pleased that Hermione had done well? Fleur seemed to be disappointed more than anything, which confused the younger witch immensely. "Is something the matter Fleur?" she asked nervously watching as the French witch continued to clean up the study. The Veela turned to face her and smiled - she had been disappointed because she had hoped to spend more time with Hermione but the younger witch had learned in a matter of moments what had taken Fleur weeks of hard work. While the French witch knew that this was good news as far as the mission was concerned, she was finding it hard to push down the pang of regret that their time alone together was coming to an end. "Non, 'Ermione, I am just... jealous at 'ow quickly you picked zis up, wen it took me so long. Forgive me?" It wasn't entirely a lie. Hermione cursed inwardly. It was not a new thing for her intelligence to make others jealous, although she had thought Fleur above that sort of thing. She nodded at Fleur and replied, "well I had an unfair advantage." Fleur looked at Hermione in puzzlement and raised her eyebrow questioningly. "'Ow so?" she asked after a moment, curiosity getting the better of her. Hermione smiled and simply said, "I trust you." The statement needed no further clarification and had the effect that Hermione had hoped as Fleur broke out into a full-throated laugh.

The two witches used legilimency to finish their lesson and Hermione watched the scene from Dumbledore's office where Fleur had successfully destroyed the Horcrux. Hermione frowned after witnessing this. "We are assuming," she said, "that a Whorecrux can be destroyed in the same manner. We are also leaving a lot to chance as we cannot test the theory until we actually come up against a Whorecrux. There are a lot of loose ends here, Fleur, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that... however in theory the process is sound." Fleur smiled at the logical approach Hermione had taken to the situation and simply nodded as these were the same flaws in the plan that the Veela herself had come up with.

"Do you 'ave any ozzer concerns about ze mission?" Fleur asked then, catching the look on Hermione's face, quickly added, "aside from ze obvious 'ippogriff in ze room?" Hermione pondered the question for a moment. It was clear that there was something else bothering the younger witch but Fleur thought she was perhaps formulating a solution before presenting her with the problem. Hermione looked at Fleur with a steady, unyielding gaze. "Do you trust me?" she asked. Without hesitation the Veela nodded. Hermione took Fleur by the hand and led her out of the study and through the castle without another word. "_Abstinance_," Hermione spoke rolling her eyes as she faced the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and Hermione pulled Fleur into the Gryffindor common room. Her friends were sitting by the blazing fire - Ginny was playing wizard's chess with Ron who, by the pouty look on his face, was clearly losing. Hermione approached Harry, tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow her. Ginny threw Hermione an annoyed and questioning look as Harry stood up. Hermione's guilt drove her to double back and place a hand on Ginny's shoulder. She leaned down to whisper in her ear, "meet me in the astronomy tower in 30 minutes and I'll tell you everything," Ginny supressed a smile and in response pecked Hermione on the cheek, before ordering a strategic attack on Ron's defensive line of pawns that had them squealing and running for cover. Hermione walked back over to the portrait and exited the common room with Harry and Fleur in tow.

Minutes later they were in the astronomy tower. Fleur and Harry looked at Hermione expectantly. The young witch took a deep breath, "Harry, you are my best friend and I trust you completely," she started. Harry instantly looked worried as he knew that these words generally heralded that he was about to be given cause for extreme concern. "Fleur and I have been given a mission by Dumbledore and McGonagall, and I am not supposed to tell you about it. In fact I'm not even allowed to tell you that there is a mission." Taking a leaf from Fleur's book, Hermione held up a hand to stop his protests as she continued. "I can tell you that I will still help you with the other thing and that Dumbledore is ensuring that I am properly equipped to handle this mission. The teachers have insisted that if it gets too much for me I've to tell them," she said, pausing to see if Harry would accept this as enough from her. Harry cast a glance at Fleur, who was watching this exchange with some trepidation, then looked back at Hermione and nodded in resignation. Hermione smiled at the boy she considered her brother and knew that he trusted her. "Now with that said, I need your help with something." She gave Harry her best hopeful puppy-eyes.

"Of course I'll help you if I can, Hermione; all you need to do is tell me what you want." Harry smiled at her reassuringly.

Hermione took a deep breath. "I need you to use legilimency on me." Fleur was stunned by this request but she remained silent. She had to show that she too trusted Hermione unconditionally. If Harry was surprised he did not show it; he simply produiced his wand and cast the spell. Hermione's suspicions were confirmed when the unpleasant feeling that she had felt when Snape had tried to invade her mind accompanied Harry's attack. "Enough," she said and Harry instantly withdrew. Hermione's eyes flicked towards the Veela and then towards Harry. She wondered how she was going to get around this issue, given that Harry had seen her wall. She cleared her throat, "Thank you Harry. Fleur was taught Occlumency and Legilimency by her parents and when we discussed it she advised that she had experienced it as a, erm, pleasant feeling. My experiences, particularly with Snape, showed me this was not true. I wondered if you could do the same to Fleur so that she can see just how unpleasant it is?" Harry looked at Hermione curiously, sensing that there was much more to the situation than she was telling him.

"This mission seems to be a bit on the um dangerous side, Hermione," he stated and turned to Fleur without waiting for Hermione to answer. Instead he raised his wand and instantly Fleur cried out in disgust and thrust Harry out of her mind. Harry was thrown backwards hard, however Hermione had anticipated this and was there to catch her friend by the shoulders as he stumbled.

The younger witch looked up at Fleur. The unspoken conversation hung thick in the air for a few moments before Fleur nodded at Hermione. The point had been made. Harry righted himself and looked questioningly at Hermione. "One more thing Harry - I wonder if you might let Fleur try that on you?" At this Harry's eyebrows knitted together in real puzzlement, but he knew Hermione well enough to know that he was not going to get an explanation from her. Shrugging, he turned back to face Fleur who already had her wand raised. The two of them struggled for a few moments then Fleur withdrew, panting a little. Hermione hugged Harry in gratitude. "Thank you Harry, really, you have helped me a great deal!" she told him as she held onto him, hoping that he would not ask any questions.

"No problem, just remember to tell me if you are in over your head?" Harry whispered to her. Hermione pulled away from him and nodded. "I promise" she replied. Harry nodded and left the tower, throwing an apologetic smile to Fleur who still looked like she'd been asked to sample some of Hagrid's baking.

Fleur looked at Hermione for a long moment, while the silence hung heavy around them. "I am tired and I suspect you will be meeting wiz Ginny," the French witch said abruptly. "I shall meet you for breakfast and zen we shall go to Professor McGonagall togezzer and tell her of our progress." Hermione nodded her agreement to the plan as Fleur left. She then went over to one of the telescopes and looked out at the starry night sky as she tried to figure out exactly how much she was going to keep from Ginny.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Sorry for the delay in updates, I have started a new job so very busy but will try to maintain 1 update a week at minimum.**

**As per usual everything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling**

Chapter 15 - More Than A Veela To Me

Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in concern as she looked at Ginny, awaiting her response. The red-haired girl was staring out of the window - not at anything in particular as it was too dark to see more than the stars. She was obviously processing everything that Hermione had just told her. In an uncommon moment of rule breaking, the older girl had confided every last detail of the last week to her best friend, feeling that holding details back would not give a properly accurate picture of the situation. Besides, she needed someone other than Fleur to discuss these things with or else she felt else her head would explode.

Ginny turned to Hermione, opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, and then failed to do anything other than stare owlishly at Hermione who, feeling the uncertainty in the air, sprang to her feet and began pacing, annoyed to feel tears brimming in her eyes for the umpteenth time this week. Ginny slowly got to her feet and stood in front of her best friend who was clearly in turmoil about a great many things. "So, umm... what was it like?" the red head finally asked quietly.

Hermione looked at Ginny, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "The kiss! What was the kiss like? Did you like it? Do you fancy her? How did it make you feel? Do you think she fancies you?" The questions poured from Ginny's mouth like water from a faucet. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other and then the two girls burst out laughing - one of those proper laughs that starts from deep down in your toes and doesn't stop until tears are streaming down your face and it is hard to catch your breath. Hermione took out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes as Ginny wiped her own eyes and nose dry in a very unladylike fashion on the sleeve of her jumper. The older girl tried to catch her breath. "You are just like your brother, Weasley! If it's not food or quidditch on your mind its **_snogging!_**"

Ginny gasped in mock indignation. "How dare you! I am nothing like my brother!" she shrieked. "For a start I regularly bathe!" she continued as Hermione burst into fits of hysterical giggles.

After a couple of minutes, when Hermione had caught her breath again, she began to blush before she even allowed the words to tumble from her mouth in response to Ginny's original question. "It was... wonderful. I felt like I was floating through a meadow without a care in the world. Does it always feel like that for you?" Ginny considered the question for a moment, trying to decide how best to answer. The younger girl knew that Hermione was quite shy when it came to private topics concerning feelings, but she also knew that her best friend deserved the truth. Simply put, the truth was that what she had described hinted that Hermione was in love with Fleur. Ginny wondered if Hermione even realised what her feelings meant. She decided to tread cautiously.

"That is exactly how it's supposed to feel, Hermione," Ginny let the sentence hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "It doesn't feel like that with Dean, it just feels sort of nice. As for Michael Corner, well, he was a terrible kisser, all slobbering and gropey. That was one of the reasons I dumped him," Ginny said, looking up at Hermione, waiting for her friend to say something. She knew her best friend wouldn't judge her for what she had said. Hermione was smiling gently so Ginny decided to add, "but then when I'm near Harry, my stomach flops and I feel that floaty feeling. I can't get my words straight or my thoughts..." Hermione smiled at her bestie. She had known about Ginny's crush before Ginny had - in fact it was helping Ginny cope with this that caused the two girls to become as close as they were. Hermione sighed. "Even after all this time?" she asked the redhead. This time it was Ginny's turn to sigh as she looked dreamily up at the sky. "Always," she replied matter of factly. The older witch reached over and squeezed Ginny's hand comfortingly. "Do you think Harry will ever notice me?" Ginny asked, solemn and yet hopeful eyes scanning the night sky. Hermione's heart sank with pity for her best friend and she pulled her into a hug. "Give him time Gin, he's a bloke so he is a bit dense but I definitely have seen him looking at you. He'll connect the dots eventually, probably when he's less worried about You-Know-Who." Ginny squeezed Hermione for a moment and then pulled away.

Hermione released her friend and then started looking at her finger nail with an alarming amount of concentration. Ginny, who understood exactly how much trust Hermione had placed in her by telling her all of this, thought now was the moment to turn things back to the more serious matter of Whorecruxes. "It's going to be hard, this mission, and you're going to be like a double agent if you're helping Harry with the Horcruxes too. I won't tell anyone, I promise, but please remember I'm here for you if you ever want to talk." Hermione knew that Ginny sincerely meant every word of it - that was why they were best friends. "Thanks Gin, I don't know what I would do without having you to talk to." Hermione smiled at Ginny, who smiled back reassuringly. Though they had not really discussed much, Hermione somehow felt better about the whole thing. "Come on, we need to get back to the dorm before curfew." With that the two girls made their way back to the common room, both feeling like they had gotten something heavy off their chests.

* * *

Breakfast was more than a little awkward. Ron was blatantly ogling Fleur. Ginny was throwing pointed looks between Hermione and Fleur. Harry was babbling nonstop about Quidditch moves that he was expecting the Weasleys to pull off during the afternoon match against Hufflepuff. Fleur's leg brushed against Hermione's under the table every few minutes, but whether accidental or intended, the younger witch could not have said. She could feel the twitch under her eye coming back. "Honestly Harry, it's only Hufflepuff! You'll be fine if you just play well and don't make it too complicated," Hermione said shortly, as she buttered herself a piece of toast and tried to stop her heart from racing. Fleur seemed to be relishing the cup of coffee that had appeared on the table in front of her when she sat down beside Hermione.

Ginny nudged Ron hard. "Honestly Ronald!" she said, in perfect imitation of Hermione, "close your mouth, you are embarrassing me!" Ron stuffed a whole sausage into his mouth and forced his eyes away from Fleur, although it appeared to take some doing. Ginny threw another pointed look at Hermione, who had had enough of this and placed a well-aimed kick at Ginny under the table. Everyone was startled when Ginny let out a sudden yelp but she got the hint and carried on eating her cereal, looking only a little apologetic.

The clacking of Professor McGonagall's boots announced her approach to the breakfast table. All the students turned to look as the sound of her footsteps stopped behind Harry, who stiffened in dread. "Potter!" she said crisply, "I've booked the Quidditch pitch for you and the team this morning so you can have a bit of last minute practice. I'm counting on you today." Harry paled a little as the blood drained from his face, he swallowed the eggs that he had in his mouth with what seemed to be quite a bit of effort and nodded "Yes, Professor. Er, thank you." He immediately abandoned his unfinished breakfast and left to rouse the rest of the team.

"Miss Granger, Miss Delacour, I would appreciate your help in my study with a project I am working on. Once you have finished your breakfasts, of course." Without giving them an opportunity to respond, Professor McGonagall turned on her heels and left. Hermione dropped her toast, suddenly losing her appetite, and looked up at Fleur who had said nothing more than a cursory "good morning" so far. Fleur smiled tentatively at Hermione and took another long sip of her coffee, then placed her cup on the table and rose gracefully. "Shall we go and 'elp Professor McGonagall zen?" the French witch asked Hermione, wishing that she had had time for another coffee. She had not slept well at all and as a result she had not felt particularly social this morning.

Hermione got up and started to follow Fleur out of the Great Hall when she heard Ginny calling after her. She turned to find the youngest Weasley thrusting a steaming hot mug of coffee into one of her hands and a bottle of pumpkin juice into the other. The bushy-haired witch looked at her friend quizzically. Ginny grinned. "She looks like she got about as much sleep as you did last night. Trust me, she'll thank you for this, one way or another," Ginny gave Hermione a sly wink and ran off again before Hermione could argue. Hermione trotted quickly along the corridor to catch up with Fleur and offered the Veela the cup of coffee. Fleur smiled gratefully and took the coffee from Hermione with delicate, pale hands. "Zank you," she said as she took a sip and they continued their walk. "'Ermione, may I ask you a personal question?" Hermione slipped her bottle of pumpkin juice into her pocket and cleared her throat. "Um, of course, " she answered, feeling like a herd of nervous butterflies were flapping and wailing around in her stomach.

Fleur seemed to be figuring out how to ask the question. Her eyes shifted from Hermione to the paintings on the corridor wall quickly, and back again. "Well, I was wondering about you and Miss Weasley..." she said, colour flooding her cheeks. The younger girl's face flushed pink at the implications but she noted that Fleur's tone was different from the time she had teased Hermione about finding a Weasley in her bed. It was more cautious, more...hopeful? "We are best friends, that's all. No, more than that actually, she's like a little sister to me." Then, feeling she had more to explain, Hermione continued, "Ginny had a hard time in first year, and she still has nightmares..."

Understanding flooded Fleur's expression as she nodded, along with a side of relief and though the Veela knew she was probably pushing her luck somewhat, she decided to seize her opportunity for boldness when she added "and Ronald?" Fleur pretended to be admiring the paintings around the door to Professor McGonagall's study. Hermione smiled to herself and felt the butterflies soar in delight. Hermione studied her feet as she responded shyly, "like a brother, like Harry." Fleur raised her fist to knock on Professor McGonagall's door, and only responded with a noncommital "hmm" but Hermione could see the flush on the back of the Veela's neck grow redder. There was only one reason why Fleur would want to know this - she must be interested! Hermione's only regret was that there were no books in the library called Magical Lesbian Adventures: What To Do When You Start To Fancy Your Partner During Your Epic Sex Quest (although she did once think she'd seen something similar stuffed under Seamus Finnigan's pillow) because she could really do with some sound literary advice right now.

"Enter!" McGonagall beckoned them into the room. Screwing up her Gryffindor courage and chivalry, Hermione reached out and opened the door for Fleur, which made the French witch positively beam. Hermione followed the Veela into the room, which held only Professor McGonagall and Madame Hooch. The young witch blushed as she met Madame Hooch's gaze and sat down hurriedly on the nearest available seat. Had Fleur not caught her, Hermione would have fallen off the edge. Hooch raised an interested eyebrow as she noticed that Fleur's pale hand rested gently on top of Hermione's, and looked up at Minerva with a lavicious grin. Professor McGonagall scowled at Madam Hooch, although there was something akin to fondness in her eyes today, and then turned her attention to the two young women before her. "Well ladies, I trust you have devised a method to destroy the piece of You-Know-Who's soul within the Whorecruxes?" Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes as Hermione blushed again. Fleur cleared her throat. "We have a theory which we are confident in, zough zere are some concerning loose ends we will not be able to address until we have tested our theory in a practical situation." Hermione seemed very interested in her own feet again, as Fleur explained the process they had devised together.

"Very well ladies, I agree that your theory is as sound as it can be in the circumstances. I do not think there is anything further that could be attempted until you have a... a practical situation to test it on." Hermione looked up at Professor McGonagall whose lips were pressed so firmly together that they had almost disappeared. "There is also the matter of spending time with a Whorecrux to see if there is a way I can help identify future ones," Hermione said hesitantly to the Professor. Fleur squeezed Hermione's hand and took a deep breath. "So, what is ze next step, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Madam Hooch who nodded encouragingly, her hawk-like eyes as mischievious as ever. "Miss Granger, Miss Delacour, you shall go to the room of requirement and await the first Whorecrux who will join you there shortly." Hermione swallowed and got to her feet, torn somewhere between obeying her professor and desperately trying to talk her way out of this situation. She had reached the door already, traipsing resignedly behind Fleur, before the thought occurred to her. "Professor, you said that the first Whorecrux is an order member. Can I ask who it is?" Fleur stiffened, her hand on the doorknob and her back to the room at large. McGonagall tried to smile but it ended up as more of a grimace. "I suppose you might as well know now, Miss Granger," she replied matter of factly. "It's Nymphadora Tonks."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Hello, Good week for everyone? Hope you all are well. I really don't think it is necessary but I wanted to put a warning on this chapter because it's going to be filthy – later chapters will be filthier but since this is the first just wanted to make sure that everyone was pre warned.**

**This chapter is a bit longer but I don't think people would forgive me if I split it into two :o)**

**Also you should check this out for some giggles: .**

**As per usual everything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling**

Chapter 16 My Veela Will Go On

They walked in silence along the seventh floor corridor. Hermione paused and nervously glanced at Fleur before signalling the French witch to remain still. Hermione gazed at the tapestry on the wall depicting some trolls who appeared to be dancing - albeit very badly - and shook her head to clear her mind. She knew she needed to be entirely focused on her request. She held a single thought in her head. '_We need a place to study and destroy a Whorecrux_'. She began to pace in front of the tapestry, concentrating on the idea. Fleur's blue eyes widened as the wall opposite the tapestry began to shift and change. The sound of stone grinding against stone grew as the wall literally rebuilt itself to reveal an elegant black door with a single golden handle. Hermione stepped in front of the door. The thrum of her heart was deafening and she felt her hand tremble as she reached out and grabbed the handle, just resting there for a moment.

The fear in the air was palpable to Fleur. The French witch stepped forward and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder reassuringly. The close proximity was all that Hermione needed; she drew strength from the warmth of the soft, delicate hand on her shoulder. She pushed the handle down and allowed the door to swing open, stepping into the room. Behind her, she could hear Fleur's breath hitch, but Hermione's own surprise was swiftly converted to anger as her eyes drank in the room, which appeared to be some sort of scarlet woman's abode. There was a seating area which consisted of an armchair, couch and loveseat, all in plush, warm red, behind which was a double bed without a wrinkle on it. The black and red bedding appeared to be of a silky material. The lighting in the room was low, but it was still well-lit enough for Hermione to draw her conclusions which set a scowl on her face. At the back of the room, a door opened onto an en suite which was equipped to meet many needs. She entered the bathroom and looked from the large walk-in shower to the bathtub with its clawed feet. It looked to be big enough for two, maybe even three people. Hermione sat on the closed toilet lid and fought to control the storm of emotions inside her chest, trying to force her tears back into her tear ducts by sheer force of will. She sat there as the true realisation of what was expected of her washed over her like a tsunami.

Fleur knelt in front of Hermione and placed her hand on the younger witch's knee. "'Ermione, please talk to me?" It was a question but there was a quality to her tone, discordant and almost begging, that Fleur did not like. The French witch pushed her dissatisfaction at her own reaction to her friend's insecurities, lifted a hand and swept the bushy mane behind Hermione's ear and gently wiped the tears from her face. Hermione's brown orbs met Fleur's blue ones and they just stared at each other for a moment. Fleur waited patiently for Hermione to organise her thoughts into speech and was rewarded with an answer moments later. "I've never... Merlin, Fleur! That kiss the other night... you were my first proper... anything! Now I've been sent up here to shag someone for the greater good," Hermione exhaled and then took a deep breath. "I just had hoped that my first time would be different... special... not part of some mission orchestrated for the bloody Order of the Phoenix!"

Fleur couldn't help feeling proud of Hermione. Not only had the younger witch had the courage to share such deep feelings with her but she had not once dropped her gaze from Fleur, meaning she trusted her. She was scared and she was vulnerable but she trusted her. The French witch knew she could not let her younger companion down. "_We_ 'ave been sent up 'ere for ze greater good, not just you, 'Ermione. You are not alone. I promised I would 'old your 'and and I will. For now, you just focus on learning 'ow to recognize ze 'Orecrux and let me worry about ze rest, oui?" Hermione slowly nodded her head, not trusting her voice. Fleur smiled at her friend encouragingly and Hermione raised a watery smile in response, wiping her face with a tissue. The blonde witch stood, kissing Hermione's forehead as she did, then exited the bathroom, giving the logical witch a few minutes to collect herself.

After splashing cold water on her face and taking a few moments to compose herself, Hermione took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. She felt a change in the atmosphere even before she saw that Fleur was in the seating area, conversing with the pink-haired Auror (who looked more relaxed than she ought to be in the circumstances) as she sprawled haphazardly on the couch. Hermione confidently strode over and sat in the armchair. The symbolism was not lost on Fleur and yet she felt another swell of pride in her chest as she realised that Hermione truly did belong in Gryffindor. The younger witch knew that she had to do this - she didn't like it, but that didn't change anything and so she was resolved to go through with it no matter how scared she was. Fleur admired her courage.

"Wotcher, Hermione," Tonks said cheerfully winking at her as she did so. Fleur raised an eyebrow and looked to Hermione, puzzled. "Watch oo?" Fleur asked. Hermione tried and failed to stifle a giggle. Fleur could study English all she wanted but some colloquialisms couldn't be translated easily. Hermione shook her head and said to Fleur, "I'll explain later." The French witch accepted the response with a smile, got up and glided over to a cabinet that Hermione had not noticed previously. Fleur appeared to be pouring Firewhiskey for them all. That was perfectly fine by Hermione, who couldn't help but feel that the rulebook had been thrown out a long time ago.

The young witch turned her attention to the Metamorphmagus, realising that Fleur was giving her space to explore how to recognise the presence of a Whorecrux. "So Tonks, what have you been told about our meeting today?" Hermione asked as she subtly flicked her wand and cast a nonverbal 'Legilimens'. Almost instantly, she felt drawn to a source of darkness, which she knew was odd. She was aware that she was completely missing Tonks' response to her question but trusted Fleur to pick up on it and continue the conversation while she explored the darkness that was drawing her in. Hermione knew that the source of darkness was what she had been seeking, and now she had identified it she could pull out, but could not resist mentally probing it in curiosity. She felt it try to draw her in more as though it wanted to connect with her. Suddenly panicking, she tried to back out and realised she was trapped. Hermione instantly threw up her walls and was thrust off her chair to the floor as pain wracked her body. She felt as though her own soul was being ripped out.

Tonks was stunned. She had been chatting away to Fleur one moment and then the next, for some inexplicable reason, Hermione appeared to throw herself on the floor and begin writhing. Fleur helped Hermione to her feet. "Are you alright?" she asked, voice laced with concern. Hermione nodded shakily and slumped back in her seat, taking the glass that Fleur must have placed on the small coffee table while she was taking a mental stroll through Tonks' mind and threw back the entire drink in one mouthful. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied, forcing her voice to sound steady and composed. Hermione caught Fleur's eye in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, but Fleur could see the fear hiding just behind the younger witch's eyes. The French witch returned the smile and resumed her conversation with Tonks' allowing Hermione to come up to speed on what she had missed.

"So you were saying zat Professor McGonagall 'as fully explained ze entire situation to you - zat you are a 'Orecrux and zat we are going to remove ze piece of You-Know-'OO's soul from you and destroy it?" Tonks nodded. Fleur continued, "And you are aware of 'ow we do zis, and you are perfectly comfortable wiz eet?" For the first time since she had joined them, Tonks started to look a little nervous. The pink-haired Auror took a sip of her Firewhiskey before she answered the Veela's questions. "I think 'comfortable' would be a bit of a stretch. After all, what Minerva explained to me was that I would pretty much just need to take one for the team - in a literal sense - and that I can definitely do. But I can assure you of all the things I was expecting the Order to ask me to do, this was not something I was entirely comfortable with." Hermione snorted at Tonks' statement, "You have no idea," she told the older witch as she got up and helped herself to another rather large glass of Firewhiskey.

Fleur stayed on the loveseat, content to merely watch as Hermione walked back to the seating area instead of returning to her chair she chose to sit beside Tonks on the couch. "It is rather a lot they ask of us sometimes, isn't it?" Hermione seemed to ask neither and both women at the same time as she raised her glass to her lips and took a sip. She seemed to be becoming accustomed to the burn of the Firewhiskey, which couldn't be good. It wasn't calming her thoughts as much as she had hoped. When she lowered her glass, she found that Tonks was leaning close. "All we can do is help each other through," Tonks said quietly as she leaned in to kiss Hermione, who panicked at the last moment and turned her head away allowing Tonks's lips to meet her cheek instead. Hermione looked at Fleur pleadingly. Fleur smiled reassuringly, aware that Tonks was not the only one who would be taking one for the team today.

The blonde turned on all her Veela charms and aimed them carefully at both women as she got to her feet and unleashed her hair. She stepped towards the couch and reached out to take Tonks' hand, pulling her away from her young friend. A now smirking Tonks allowed Fleur to lead her, apparently happy to know that she would get some and not too worried about from whom it came from. Hermione took another drink of her Firewhiskey and watched as the woman she had feelings for pushed the robes from Tonks' slender shoulders and leaned in to kiss her. The young witch felt more torn than ever as a flicker of jealousy sparked in the pit of her stomach. How she wished it was her lips Fleur was kissing, her robes Fleur was pushing off, her body that Fleur was eyeing with pleasure. She gulped the last of her drink as her gaze remained on the two witches by the bed. The spark of jealousy crackled and branded her like a bonfire, adding fuel to the impotent rage she seemed to be constantly stuffing down these days. Hermione could also feel Fleur's thrall nudging her and knew that the Veela was trying to make the situation easier. There was not going to be a safer environment for Hermione to practise the things they had learned than the one they were in right now and so reluctantly she dropped her walls and allowed Fleur to envelop her mind with the Veela thrall.

To her credit, the normally clumsy Tonks was continuing to follow Fleur's lead. Where there should have been awkwardness was instead a slow tenderness as she unbuttoned Fleur's blouse, allowing it to drop to the floor. Hermione was surprised - from what muggle TV had taught her, these things always happened in a frenzy but there was nothing frenzied about these smooth, practised actions. Fleur seemed to be taking it slow and Tonks did not seem to be in any sort of rush either as she began to kiss and nibble Fleur's throat. Fleur's eyes met Hermione's, holding her gaze as she stretched out an arm, beckoning the younger witch over. Hermione was on her feet and heading towards the other two before she knew what she was doing. Fleur pulled the younger witch towards herself and Tonks and then kissed her. This time it was not soft and gentle, but searingly passionate; Hermione could sense Fleur's want, her need, her desire, and for the first time since they had entered the room it occurred to Hermione that the older witch might need some reassurance too.

If the addition of Hermione to their little tryst bothered Tonks, she hid it extremely well as she pulled Hermione's t-shirt off, separating the kiss. Tonks' eyes roamed Hermione's body and the younger witch blushed at the attention and hid her face in the crook of Fleur's neck under the pretence of nibbling at it. Fleur pulled Hermione into an embrace as she let her hands rest on the curve of her buttocks and squeezed slightly. Tonks slid behind Hermione and began to kiss her neck and shoulder. The Gryffindor thought she was melting as each touch and sensation overwhelmed.

Hermione continued to nuzzle Fleur, bathing in her scent as she felt hands, and could not determine whose, undoing the clasp of her bra, pulling it from her. She was about to protest when she realised that somewhere between joining them and now, the other two witches had apparently somehow lost all of their clothes. Hermione allowed the two older witches to take control. They took turns - Fleur would kiss her, exploring her mouth with her tongue, reaching those now familiar places, as Tonks undid her jeans. The Metamorphmagus kissed her softly but not in the least hesitantly, as Fleur slipped Hermione's jeans down from her hips and the Gryffindor kicked them off. Hermione felt four hands tenderly exploring her body; one hand was squeezing a breast, another was entwined in her hair, a third was gently rubbing the small of her back and a fourth was working its way down her stomach. Her own hands were clutching to Fleur, anchoring her as Fleur claimed her lips once more and Tonks's tongue roughed over her nipple. The young witch closed her eyes enjoying the kiss as her body tingled with the new sensations she was feeling.

The hand that was travelling down Hermione's stomach slipped into the elastic of her panties. Deft fingers separated her folds, pressing firmly against her clit. This action instantly sobered Hermione. She stiffened and, feeling threatened, threw up her walls, effectively blocking against the presence of Fleur's thrall. Fleur noticed the subtle change in Hermione's posture but more so recognised that she had been blocked from her mind. She immediately knew something was not quite right with the young witch. The Veela pulled away gently. One look at the young witch's face was enough for her to see that it had been too much too soon. Hermione looked vastly overwhelmed and massively uncomfortable. Fleur felt a rush of anger that Tonks had not noticed the level of discomfort Hermione was experiencing and was continuing her ministrations, oblivious to the rising tension in the room. The Veela pushed her anger down quickly, not wanting to awake the beast within. Fleur reached down and took hold of Tonks's hand, pulling it out of Hermione's pants. With her other hand, Fleur cupped Hermione's face and gave her a gentle smile. Almost imperceptibly Hermione nodded, her heart racing. The inexperienced witch wanted nothing more than to run from this place but they had a mission to finish.

Fleur led Tonks by the hand over to the bed, inwardly disappointed that it was not Hermione and concerned that she could not help her friend through the things she was feeling right now. She pushed all these thoughts aside - she could only deal with one thing at a time and at the moment the most important thing was the Whorecrux. Guiltily Fleur pushed Hermione and everything else out of her mind, laid back on the bed and pulled Tonks on top of her.

This was clearly not Tonks' first dance around the Great Hall. The pink-haired Auror was certainly eager as she kissed Fleur enthusiastically. The French witch ran her hands down Tonks' body, grasping two handfuls of pert buttock and squeezed as she ground her groin against the other woman. A moan escaped Tonks' lips and she sat up quickly, pushing her core against Fleur's as a feral smile spread across her face. Fleur felt Tonks grabbing at her breasts and in response she reached a hand between Tonks legs and rubbed her fingertips along the length of the Auror's slit, glad to feel the wetness. Tonks groaned as she pinched and squeezed Fleur's breasts and closed her eyes in anticipation, trying to force the French witch's fingers inside her by grinding down harder. Fleur permitted a tight smile to flash across her face as she thrust two already slick fingers inside Tonks and let the witch on top do most of the work. Tonks set the pace riding Fleur's hand faster and harder as the Veela thrust to match Tonks' movements. Each time Fleur's fingers thrust into Tonks, the Auror could feel the heel of the French witch's hand slam into her clit, and each time the hand hit home Tonks screamed her encouragement with her head thrown back wantonly.

Fleur continued on as Tonks closed her eyes; the pink-haired Auror slowed down, aware that she was getting close to climax and wishing to make the experience last longer. Fleur noticed the change in pace with some annoyance and, wanting this to be done already, threw another wave of thrall at Tonks. The Auror, unable to resist the thrall, lost all restraint and bounced around like she was riding on the back of a tractor. Fleur felt Tonks' walls squeeze her fingers and knew that now was the time. She tried to use her free hand to grope around for her wand but it was beyond her reach.

Hermione, eyes wide, fire of jealousy still blazing deep within her, noticed Fleur searching for her wand and realised that this was her cue to act. The young witch raised her wand and entered Tonks's mind. The darkness that she had noticed previously noticed now seemed to be an entirely separate entity. While carefully maintaing her presence inside the Aurors' mind, Hermione used her wand to create a cut in her hand and swung it so that droplets of blood fell upon Tonks naked back. The pink-haired witch screamed in climax and as she did so the darkness vacated her mind and body, hanging above the bed. The form it took was not unlike the dark mark. It did not take Hermione more than a second to realise that the darkness was looking for a new host - hurriedly, she recited the incantation that Fleur had taught her, flourished her wand and silently prayed that it would work quickly. She did not need to wait long for her answer as the darkness rushed towards her and then just as it reached her seemed to evaporate with a loud hiss as Tonks collapsed unconscious on top of Fleur.

Hermione's jealousy piqued and the inner rage she had been so carefully containing seemed to bubble to the surface all at once. She wanted nothing more than to pull Tonks off Fleur by her stupid pink hair and hex her through the floor. Frowning, knowing that this was not like her at all, she chose instead to remove herself from the situation and stormed off to the bathroom, door slamming behind her. Fleur gently rolled the unconscious witch off of her. The French witch got off of the bed, found her knickers and Hermione's tshirt and slipped both on before searching for her wand. Finding it, she turned to Tonks and cast 'Enervate'. Tonks awoke and, blushing, began to gather her clothes. She looked at Fleur curiously. "Is it done?" she asked. Fleur nodded. "And Hermione?" Tonks asked, looking around for the young witch. Fleur shook her head. "I will take care of 'er. Do not worry."

Tonks nodded as she pulled on her clothes and headed to the door. Pausing for a moment, she wondered if she should maybe thank the Veela or something, but decided against it. She left the room deep in thought and walked straight into Severus Snape who raised his wand swiftly and cast a stiff-lipped 'Obliviate'.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and this one too which is smuttier than the last.**

**A quick note about WetOtterSoks: We are actually 2 people, Wetsoks is me, I do all the writing and Otter is my friend who does the beta-ing, though most of the jokes belong to Otter :o) **

**We would like to thank you for the lovely reviews you give us – each email notification gets us excited and each review makes us smile :o)**

**As per usual everything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling**

**Chapter 17 Like a Veela**

Fleur knocked on the bathroom door but Hermione did not respond. The French witch pressed an ear to the door and listened hard. The shower was running. Fleur tried to put herself in Hermione's shoes and figured that a shower was probably an appropriate response, so she decided to leave the younger witch to her thoughts and instead went down to her own rooms to gather some clean clothes for her young friend.

Hermione let the scalding hot water wash over her, wishing that it could penetrate her skin and mend her heart or at the very least boil off the impurities of these damn emotions. She knew that it was logical for her to feel jealous of Tonks. She knew as well that she trusted Fleur - she had watched every detail of what had happened and while Tonks certainly seemed to enjoy it, Fleur on the other hand seemed to just want it over as quickly as possible. Hermione continued to work through the logic behind her emotions, cleansing her soul as the shower cleansed her skin.

Fleur returned a few minutes later and approached the bathroom door. The shower was still running. She gently knocked on the door, "'Ermione, I 'ave brought you some clothes, I am just going to open ze door and place zem inside." She did not get a response but she wasn't really expecting one. Opening the door, she placed the clothes on the counter then closed the door and sat on the couch. The room had provided two cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. Dobby had told Fleur, after some prompting, that sometimes when Hermione could not sleep this was what she came to the kitchens for. Fleur thought about the last couple of hours and cursed herself for not taking Hermione's virginity in the prefect's bathroom that first night. She knew that it would have been far too soon for the young witch, but she could not imagine how much damage had been done by trying to convince her to join in a threesome today, before she had ever lain with someone privately.

Fleur thought back to her own first time; it had not been magical or special - on the contrary it had been painful and confusing. She remembered initiating the encounter with one of the older girls from Bauxbatons and while they were not trying to hurt her but nor were they being gentle. Had she let Tonks continue she knew that Hermione would have felt much the same way her first time, and that would make continuing on with the mission much harder. But that was not Fleur's sole concern. Aside from the obvious lust that went through her mind every time she flashed back on the bathroom scene or even holding Hermione naked in her arms today, Fleur had deeper feelings for the young witch, stronger feelings than she had ever felt for anyone before. She wanted to do everything within her power to protect Hermione's heart, and today had been a mistake in that department. She cursed Dumbledore and McGonagall for putting the young witch through this.

She was pulled from her thoughts abruptly by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Fleur looked up quickly to see Hermione stood chewing her lip. She stood in the doorway, wearing only one of Fleur's shirts and a pair of boxers, wet hair resting over one shoulder. She looked more nervous than upset and Fleur decided it was time to lay her cards on the table. "Zer is 'ot chocolate 'ere wiz marshmallows. I am told et is your favourite. Why don't you come and sit and I will brush your 'air?" Fleur asked. Hermione walked over and sat on the couch with her back to Fleur without saying a word. The Veela took a deep breath, picked up the hairbrush and began to very gently brush Hermione's hair. "I think it is time for a confession if zat is alright 'ermione?" the French witch asked, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. The silent young witch just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. What if she had misread the entire situation and the Gryffindor did not return her feelings? What if she was so angry about what happened earlier that she would reject her? Fleur pushed her doubts and her fears aside and took a deep breath, "When I stepped out of ze fireplace in Professor McGonagall's office and saw you sitting there I was afraid." She continued to brush Hermione's hair as she spoke, using the action to distract her from the vulnerability she felt, "I remembered you from 2 years ago only now you are even more beautiful zan you were zen." Upon hearing this Hermione spun around and looked Fleur in the face, her expression angry as she examined the French witch.

"Fleur, don't you dare sit there and confess romantic intentions for me in the very room where you just fucked Nymphadora Tonks!" she spat with a lot more venom than she had intended, "Don't you dare! I told you I wanted my first time to be special! I told you I didn't want it to be part of some mission. Don't you see? If you had taken me there and then on the bathroom floor, it would have been better than inviting me to join in your little ménage a trois with Tonks - who by the way didn't seem to give a damn about which one of us she fucked or the fact that I am barely of age!" Fleur sat there and even though each word was as hurtful as though Hermione was actually striking blows, she just accepted it. Hermione on the other hand was frustrated with herself because yet again there were tears streaming down her face and she couldn't tell if they were there because she was angry, or hurting, or both. "I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I hate this stupid mission and I hate you!" she hissed at Fleur before turning away from the French witch and dissolving into floods of tears.

Fleur drew Hermione into her arms. The crying witch fought for a few moments, not wanting to be comforted, least of all by Fleur who was the cause of most of these tears. She gave up her fight when the warmth and security of being in Fleur's arms overwhelmed her, once again feeling as though her own body was betraying her. Fleur held her tight and rocked her slowly. When the young witch's sobs finally quieted, she began to speak. "Of course you are correct 'Ermione. I 'ope zat you can find it in your 'eart to forgive me some day. I should not 'ave brought you to ze first Whorecrux wizout... well, I should 'ave made a move on you before zis moment." Hermione rested her head against the French witch, not sure that she could ever forgive Fleur for making her feel so tumultuous and not knowing how the Veela could possibly make this right. They sat for a few more moments in silence. Hermione finally pulled away and picked up her hot chocolate, deciding a change of subject was in order.

"Locating the Whorecruxes should be quite easy now, I suppose," she said. "It should be a simple case of using legilimency on those we suspect. All we need to do now is make a list of suspects and try to enter their minds unawares. I wonder if McGonagall or Dumbledore have a list of candidates. What do you think?" she asked Fleur. It was Hermione's way of letting her know that while she had not said anything about forgiving Fleur, she was willing to try and move on from where they were currently. "Oui, I zink zat zey might 'ave an idea or at ze very least be able to 'elp by pointing us in ze correct direction," Fleur answered, happy for now to allow Hermione to control the flow of conversation. They chatted away - remaining on very neutral topics as they drank their hot chocolate - for over an hour, and as time went by Hermione seemed to relax more. The French witch knew better than to think that all was well between the two of them, but she couldn't help feeling a little more hopeful.

Hermione got up from the couch and walked over to her jeans that had been scourgified, folded and laid across the back of the armchair. She picked them up and pulled them on quickly. "I suppose we should go and speak with Professor McGonagall," she said with a sigh, not really relishing the idea, and Fleur saw her opportunity. "Why don't you let me go and speak wiz 'er? I will tell 'er zat we completed ze task successfully and zat we will give 'er a more detailed report at a later time," Fleur offered. Hermione considered her proposal. It was true that she could use a bit more time to process before she went to see her head of house to explain what had happened.

Hermione had felt that while they had completed their mission, she herself had in a way failed by being unable to 'perform' at the task ahead, and while she was certain that Professor McGonagall would understand why, she couldn't help but feel that the woman would somehow be disappointed in her. Hermione turned to Fleur and nodded her agreement to the plan. "OK Fleur, thank you. I just don't think I can face Professor McGonagall or anyone really right now." Fleur nodded, smiling. She had suspected this would be the case. Fleur thought hard for a moment and was surprised when the room seemed to read her mind - a door appeared behind Hermione. The younger witch looked at the door and then back to Fleur and, copying the French witch's trademark move, raised an eyebrow questioningly, Fleur's smile grew to a grin, the young witch was impressed. "I read about zis room in 'Ogwarts: A 'istory, before we came 'ere for ze Tri-wizard Tournament. Eet provides you what you need and you said zat you could not face anyone so I simply asked the room to provide a door to my quarters so zat you could go zer and read or rest while I spoke wiz ze Professor." She could have done the same when she realised that Hermione would need clothes after her shower given that the French witch was now wearing Hermione's tshirt but she also figured that the Gryffindor would have appreciated some space.

Brimming with gratitude (and a little jealous that she had not thought of it herself), Hermione went over to Fleur and bravely kissed the French witch on the cheek. "Just when I thought I was so mad at you that there was nothing you could do to change it, you do something so thoughtful and kind. Thank you." Somewhat startled, Fleur sat there in shock while Hermione turned and exited through the door into Fleur's quarters. After a moment, Fleur got up, pulled her own jeans on and headed off to see Professor McGonagall.

Returning to her quarters half an hour later, Fleur was greeted by a surprising sight; Hermione was lying on the couch reading, but she had removed her jeans and was only wearing Fleur's shirt and boxers. Fleur found it incredibly sexy. She had only moments to wonder whether Hermione was teasing her when the bushy haired witch got up from the couch and stepped over to Fleur who had just closed the door with hands that had suddenly become oddly clumsy. Hermione was blushing but looked oddly determined as she placed her hands on the Veela's face, passionately kissing the stunned French witch against the door. Hermione pushed her tongue into Fleur's mouth tenderly. It took her a minute but Fleur finally got over her surprise and responded eagerly to the kiss. The two witches broke apart after a few moments and Hermione smiled at the Veela. "I think that was what you were trying to say earlier?" she asked. Fleur smirked. "Oui, zough I zink you put it more eloquently zan I could 'ave," she replied and both witches giggled. Hermione's face took on a more serious expression. "Fleur, ideally we would have had several dates and many conversations before we got to this stage but due to this mission, this is a luxury we do not have. I don't want to lose my virginity to someone like Tonks who I couldn't really give two hoots about in a romantic context." Fleur was listening intently to what the logical young witch was saying and thought she had the gist of it although she felt that, due to nervousness, Hermione was making it a lot more wordy than it needed it to be. "Fleur, what I am trying to say is, well..." Hermione's face flushed as she struggled to find the right words. "Oh Merlin, just take me!"

Fleur's grin was feral in its intensity - she didn't need a second invite! She put one hand around Hermione's waist pulling the younger witch towards her. The Veela's other hand went to the back of Hermione's head and gently grasped her hair as she pulled the younger witch up against her and kissed her again. During this kiss nothing was held back, their raw emotion was expressed through a rough passion that had both witches panting within moments. Fleur pulled away, took Hermione's hand and led her to the bedroom, closing the door and warding it so no one, especially busy body house elves could come in. She quickly cast a silencing charm at it so that they could make as much noise as they wanted without disturbing anyone outside of the room. Now that they had moved into the bedroom, Hermione had lost every ounce of bravado that she had felt just moments before. Fleur recognised this and slipped her hand into Hermione's, she leaned forward and whispered "I will 'old your 'and." The younger witch smiled and nodded. The Veela took that as permission to pull Hermione over to the bed, pushing her down onto the soft mattress. She leaned down and kissed the brown eyed witch pushing her backwards gently as she did so. As they kissed Fleur reached down and slowly began to unbutton the shirt that Hermione was wearing, never once breaking eye contact with the nervous young witch as she opened the shirt and exposed Hermione's pert young breasts. Fleur leaned in for another kiss and as she did so, she softly ran her hand from Hermione's side up across her abs and gently began to fondle one breast then the other. She felt Hermione tremble under her touch and pulled out of the kiss but continued the motions with her hand, again making eye contact until she felt certain that Hermione was ok.

Hermione's skin was tingling as though Fleur was conducting an electric current through her body from each fingertip. She smiled as the French witch pulled out of their kiss again to look her in the eye, making sure she was ok. Hermione liked this soft approach - it was clear to her that Fleur cared, and because that was obvious she felt her nervousness slowly ebb away. She started to feel that the contact with Fleur's hand was simply not enough for her and began to tug at the hem of Fleur's shirt. The Veela pulled away from Hermione and removed her tshirt. Hermione scooted all the way onto the bed and stared at the French witch's exquisite body, eyes wide with wonder. Fleur, now in just her black lacy knickers, crawled slowly up Hermione's body, placing one leg between Hermione's soft thighs and leaning down to kiss the brown-eyed beauty again. Hermione felt Fleur's near naked body press against her; legs against legs, stomach against taut stomach, and it felt wonderful. She genuinely enjoyed the feeling of being pinned underneath Fleur - rather than feeling trapped, she felt safe and secure as the French witch leant in and again began to explore her mouth with her tongue. The Veela was determined to make this as enjoyable, safe and gentle as she could. If that meant it took all day, then she would happily deal with it.

This time as Fleur kissed her, Hermione could feel a toned thigh gently pressing into her crotch and she couldn't help a soft whimper escaping into Fleur's mouth as she hungrily kissed the French witch. The Veela smiled as she felt Hermione's hands (which had previously been dangling limply by her side) beginning to explore her body. At first they just ran up and down her back, then Fleur felt one of them move downward and come to rest on her buttock over her pants. The Veela was glad that Hermione was feeling confident enough to do this and continued to gently grind her thigh into Hermione's crotch as she pulled out of the kiss and gently flicked her tongue against her ear, soliciting a squeak from the younger witch. Fleur trailed kisses across Hermione's jawline and down her creamy throat then made her way across the soft expanse of skin to a breast. She felt Hermione slip a hand into hers, and she squeezed it reassuringly as she softly began to suckle on a nipple, occasionally flicking her tongue across it or pulling away only long enough to blow on it. Fleur then made her way across to the other breast and as she gave it the same undivided attention, low guttural moans began to escape Hermione's lips.

Fleur moved back up to recapture Hermione's lips with her own and was surprised that as she did so Hermione slipped a hand under the elastic of her knickers and was exploring her arse. Fleur squeezed the hand that was in her own as she followed Hermione's lead and slipped her free hand into the young witch's boxers and softly cupped her vagina. She pulled out of the kiss once more so that she could hold Hermione's eyes as she slowly slipped a finger between her lips and began to gently rub the young witch's clit, "Oh Merlin, Fleur," Hermione cried out breathlessly. Fleur again squeezed Hermione's hand as she continued to circle her clit with her finger, then ran it down the young witch's opening then back up to her clit, allowing her time to get used to the idea. As Fleur did this she felt Hermione open her legs automatically, inviting her in. Fleur smiled at Hermione and leaned down. "Tell me if you want to stop 'Ermione, any time, it will 'urt but only for a moment I promise," she husked. Hermione nodded tentatively and Fleur slipped a single finger inside the young witch, then pulled it out again before adding a second. She leaned down and kissed Hermione hard but as soon as she felt the Gryffindor responding, she pushed both fingers inside, not stopping when she felt some resistance. Finally she held her hand in position, and began to slowly rub the young witch's clit with her thumb. Hermione shuddered as she felt a sharp pain where Fleur's fingers were. Her eyes shot open wide and she grasped Fleur's other hand tightly, but after a moment she was lost in pleasure. She could feel the French witch's breath against her ear as she started to pant, and out of curiosity more than anything slipped her hand out of Fleur's and into her knickers to feel the Veela's core soaking wet.

Fleur smiled against Hermione's neck and began to kiss and nibble it as she ever so slowly began to move her fingers in and out of Hermione. She knew that soon the young witch would not be able to concentrate enough to keep her hand where it was but she began to grind against her fumbling hand anyway, enjoying her naive touches while they lasted. As Fleur began to speed up her thrusts, Hermione began to match her rhythm with her hips. Fleur looked at Hermione, her eyes were screwed shut in pleasure. "You are beautiful 'Ermione" she whispered as she moved her fingers in and out even faster, continuing to rub the Gryffindor's clit with her thumb. "Oh Fleur," Hermione whimpered as she felt herself grow closer and closer to climax. Fleur felt Hermione's hands reach around her back and cling to her, nails digging in sharply as she arched her back. "Oh! Christ on a bike... oh Merlin...Fleur...FLEUR!"

Hermione's entire body trembled as Fleur took her young lover over the edge of Orgasm Cliff and all the way to Pleasure Beach. Fleur held her hand still as Hermione rode it out, then she carefully pulled her fingers out, as Hermione continued to whimper. She lay on the bed beside Hermione and pulled her into her arms. "You are so very sexy 'Ermione," she whispered to her new lover as she kissed the back of her neck and held her as tightly as she dared. Hermione began to regain control of herself after a few minutes of blissful relaxation. "Merlin, Fleur that was amazing." Fleur smiled at the comment before grabbing her wand and casting a quick Scourgify for comfort's sake, then Accio'd the blankets that had fallen to the floor, making sure they were both covered up. "Eet gets better, 'Ermione." A sigh escaped Hermione as she held Fleur's arm that was wrapped around her and she sank into a blissful sleep, not letting Whorecruxes or Horcruxes even cross her mind. Fleur too was content to have this young woman in her arms, for she knew that she loved her and everything else be damned because nothing else mattered.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Hope you like this chapter. Thanks for the reviews! Special mention to Kitten In A Rainbow for having an awesome name and Zelda's Hero? Should be WetOtterSoks Hero!**

**Reviews literally make our day, we giggle about them and can't wait to read more.**

Chapter 18 Of Hobnobs and Harridans

Fleur woke up alone. She stretched languidly and glanced around the room, but it was evident that her lover had disappeared. She was not particularly worried - Fleur knew that Hermione had a lot going on at the moment and probably needed some time to herself. Over the last few mealtimes in the Great Hall, she'd heard whispered discussions about the new High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, punishments that involved causing pain, and some sort of stunt the Weasley twins were planning, although for her own sanity she'd tried to ignore that last one as much as possible. Fleur knew that on top of studying for O.W.L's, looking for Horcruxes and now dealing with this whole Whorecrux mission, Hermione was also trying to keep her best friends out of trouble and specifically counsel one rather moody Harry Potter through puberty. Frankly the Veela was amazed that Hermione hadn't yet exploded. She also knew that since it was a Hogsmeade weekend and a Saturday afternoon to boot, Hermione had made plans to meet some of their friends so they could discuss the ongoing Umbridge situation.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Fleur decided that she might as well make an effort to speak with Professor McGonagall today, given the amount of free time she had on her hands. While taking a quick shower, she noticed the aftermath of a bite on her shoulder. Casting her mind back to the morning's events, she determined that it had been Hermione who had bitten her and was silently grateful, as she suspected that being unable to account for bites on one's body might have made one somewhat of a, to use a particularly apt phrase, Whorecrux. Her full lips quirked in amusement at the joke. She got dressed using a scarf to tactfully cover the small purple bruise and headed out of her quarters towards Professor McGonagall's study.

A low rumble emanating from her stomach reminded her that she had not yet eaten, which made her wonder in turn whether Hermione would be joining her for dinner. As she wandered the corridors of Hogwarts, she let her mind wander to the many places she could take Hermione for dinner if they were not on this godawful mission and stuck at Hogwarts School of Fashion Avoidance and Pedantry. As it stood they had shared a couple of meals now, though that awful pink woman who apparently thought she was running the school gave them cause to avoid the Great Hall as much as possible. Fleur turned the corner right before Professor McGonagall's study and came, unexpectedly and entirely unfortunately, face to face with the wretched pink toad in question. A very un-Bauxbatons scowl twisted the Veela's pretty face for a moment before she forced her expression back to neutral. No point in antagonising the current authority figures, no matter how unpleasant they were. "Hem hem," the squat witch simpered, causing Fleur's teeth to grind together in annoyance even as she fought for her expression to remain carefully blank. "Excuse me, but what are you doing in my school?" A short angry mewl erupted from the brooch she was wearing, and it appeared that the fluffy kitten on it felt Fleur ought to answer the question as well.

Fleur couldn't help raising an eyebrow in indignation and opened her mouth to answer but before she could, the door to Professor McGonagall's study flew open and Minerva stepped out. Fleur shut her mouth quickly, deciding it was definitely best let the Professor handle this. Plus, it would probably be entertaining. "Good afternoon Dolores, shouldn't you be counting the spoons or something?" Fleur bit her lip and tried not to laugh outright, then she began to wonder if she was already picking up some of Hermione's traits. Biting her lip now and didn't she just scowl a few moments ago? She was shaken out of her thoughts by Umbridge's tart response. "Really, _Minerva_, I should hope someone as... 'seasoned' as yourself would know that the role of High Inquisitor involves far more important tasks than counting silverware. Cornelius is relying on me to report back on everything that is happening here, so that we might better understand where and why this school has gone downhill!" McGonagall seemed to take the utmost offense to this statement. She stepped closer to Umbridge, highlighting that she was not only a bigger and better witch than her pink-clad counterpart, but she was also tall enough to tower threateningly over the toad.

"I am sure, _Dolores_, that the Minister of Magic will be thrilled to hear that you have spent your time measuring Professor Flitwick's height to the nearest centimetre and ensuring all the pencils are lined up correctly!" Professor McGonagall bit back crisply. Umbridge threw back her shoulders and puffed up as much as possible before replying. "Hem hem," she said, laying one chubby hand on the lapel of her gaudy pink robes in what she undoubtedly thought was an impressive manner. "Might I remind you, _Professor McGonagall_, that Educational Decree number 23 gives me the authority to-"

The Veela could see that Toad Face (which as a nickname was better than some of the creatively offensive things Fleur had personally heard the staff come up with) was building up steam for some sort of longwinded lecture but luckily Professor McGonagall decided to step in. "Yes, yes, we all know what your main objective here is. It does not, however, mean that you have the right to stop me from having a spot of tea and a biscuit with my niece who is visiting from France. And before you interrupt me I have permission for her to visit from Cornelius himself, which you are welcome to go and check. Come along, Fleur dear, you were going to tell me about how Apoline's dress sense has not improved." With that Minerva signalled for Fleur to enter the study. The French witch glanced at Umbridge, whose face was flushed with anger at being bested, and stifled another smirk as she stepped into the study. "Oui, Tante Minerva," Fleur added smugly, for extra effect.

Professor McGonagall shut the door firmly and leaned against it for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose, as Fleur took a seat next to Madam Hooch on the couch. "Oh Minnie, I like this rebellious side of you!" Hooch said, far too excitedly. Professor McGonagall flashed a weary and reproachful look at Hooch before walking over to her desk. The flying instructor giggled, totally unabashed. "Have a biscuit, Professor and loosen up a little." McGonagall opened her mouth to snap a retort then turned her attention to Fleur and closed it again with a sigh. Fleur was concerned that she might never understand these British Witches and their bizarre obsession with biscuits. She put the notion aside for the time being, resolving to study it later (perhaps it was a cultural thing) and chose her words carefully. "Zis Professor Umbridge appears to be making zings very difficult for ze students." Hermione had, after some convincing, told Fleur about Harry's hand and while she did not want to break that confidence, at the same time she wanted to be sure that the right people were aware of just what was going on.

Professor McGonagall nodded her agreement. Hooch cleared her throat, looking rather serious for once. "The portrait of Great Auntie Nellie told me that while she was in her frame in the Hogs Head this afternoon, she heard that the students are making plans to fight back. They are calling themselves Dumbledore's Army. Good old Potter is rallying the troops, so to speak!" Hooch and McGonagall were positively beaming with pride over this information. Fleur, on the other hand, was concerned that these young students appeared to be preparing themselves for war. Perhaps there was more going on than she knew.

"Miss Delacour," McGonagall began, "I apologise if what I told Dolores Umbridge in the corridor made you uncomfortable - however we simply cannot let the Ministry catch wind of the real reason why you are here as they have a particular proclivity for postulating and prohibiting things that they do not understand." Fleur responded to McGonagall's apology with a nod, allowing the teacher to continue. "You reported earlier that Miss Granger and yourself successfully destroyed the piece of You-Know-Who's soul that was within Nymphadora Tonks. Do you feel that there is anything else we should know about?" Fleur couldn't stop the rosy blush spreading over her cheeks at the memory of the Whorecrux incident. Professor McGonagall appeared to suddenly be very interested in an imperfection in the carpet under her boot, while Madam Hooch was already rolling her eyes. "I am not asking for all the sordid details..." McGonagall began but was cut off by Hooch who swiftly interjected, "though if you wanted to share them, naturally we would be delighted to lend an ear or four."

McGonagall delivered a swift glare at the flying instructor who sat back on the couch, grinning in a totally unrepentant way, before continuing. "What I mean is... Well... did Hermione successfully discover how to locate Whorecruxes? And how is she dealing with the... erm... aftermath of what happened with Nymphadora? I am assuming that since she did not accompany you to our earlier meeting that she is perhaps not dealing with it too well?" McGonagall poured tea for herself, Hooch and Fleur and sat down behind her desk, awaiting Fleur's response. The Veela took a sip of the scalding tea that McGonagall had given her, taking a moment to arrange her thoughts. "Oui, 'Ermione 'as found a way to locate these 'orcruxes. I believe she struggled at first but 'as now come to terms wiz it. 'Ermione is stronger than you know and I will 'elp 'er through zis," Fleur looked at McGonagall hoping that she was reassuring the teacher.

Madam Hooch had not missed the undertone to what Fleur was saying, nor had she missed the change in the French witch's attitude. "I just bet you're 'helping' her" she smirked knowingly. Since the implication was in fact the truth, Fleur chose to respond by also studying the carpet, which was in fact a very interesting feature of the room and definitely demanded greater attention. Professor McGonagall looked from Fleur to Madam Hooch, who nodded and winked in Fleur's direction. McGonagall was slower on the uptake but after a few moments her eyes widened as the knut dropped and she sat up in her chair stiffly. "Do you mean to tell me that you and Miss Granger, that you... Miss Delacour! Am I to understand that you are..." It seems she couldn't quite put into words what she was thinking - fortunately Hooch and her lack of shame were there to help. "Shagging like Crumple-Horned Snorkacks during mating season?" Hooch interjected. "Digging each other like a pair of Nifflers loose in Gringotts? Fondling her Snitch like-"

"Rolanda!" McGonagall gaped, purpling with either embarassment or anger, Fleur couldn't quite tell. "Have a... have a..." The teacher looked desperately around for something, and unable to find it, threw her hands in the air in a gesture of resignation. Fleur coughed politely and waited for the tides of the Sea of Awkwardness to sweep back out again.

None of them spoke for a long minute, until Professor McGonagall set her teacup on her desk with a clink that sounded much louder than normal. "Is Madame Hooch correct, Miss Delacour?" she asked. Fleur forced her eyes away from the fascinating carpet and saw a mixture of emotions play across the Professor's normally stony face, ranging from concern to disappointment. Fleur sighed. "Oui," she replied, startling even herself - she'd had every intention of denying it up until now, of defending Hermione's honor and preserving what little privacy the Gryffindor had left, but when she opened her mouth to protest, the truth had somehow spilled out. Fleur cleared her throat before Professor McGonagall exploded, as she appeared to be about to do. "Zat is to say zat we are growing closer and zere is some attraction. I would like to stress zat I would never cause 'arm to come to 'Ermione! I would never 'urt 'er, and I certainly would not betray 'er trust by discussing zese private zings!" When she had started answering McGonagall's questions, she had intended to keep emotion out of it as much as possible but as she reached the end of her little speech she had started to feel a simmering rage at the question, which felt like an interrogation. Hooch's eyebrows rose as she looked pointedly in McGonagall's direction, hawk-like eyes sharp as ever. The Professor was staring into her empty teacup, apparently processing what Fleur had said.

Hooch got up and strode over to the desk, gently squeezing McGonagall's shoulder but directing her focus towards Fleur. "You will have to forgive Minerva. As well as being her favourite student, Hermione reminds her of herself a lot - all books, rules and prudish tendencies." Her blunt comments were somehwat softened by her reassuring pats of the Professor's shoulder. "Minnie is struggling with all this, as I am sure you and Granger are as well. However we do want to ensure that Granger, who is indeed very young and quite fragile, is not damaged by this whole ordeal any more than we can possibly avoid." Hooch paused for a moment to study Fleur, ensuring that her words were sinking in. Fleur simply nodded, not feeling the need to reiterate her previous words.

A gentle knock at the door put an end to the entire conversation. Professor McGonagall signalled for the newcomer to enter and as she did so, Madam Hooch took a seat in a chair to the side of the room, leaving the space on the couch next to Fleur available. The door opened and Hermione entered with a shy smile. She scanned the room and her eyes settled on Fleur who smiled back at her, equally shyly. The young witch beamed, apparently unaware of the underlying tension, and the Veela let out a breath that she had not even known that she was holding. Hermione took the empty seat beside Fleur and tried hard not to simply stare at the French witch.

"Thank you for joining us Miss Granger. I trust you had an enjoyable afternoon in Hogsmeade?" Professor McGonagall asked smiling reassuringly. Hermione nodded. "Good. Miss Delacour has filled us in on the success of your mission... W-Well done." Hermione grinned automatically at the praise but her smile faltered when she remembered that she felt that she did not quite deserve it. She chose to change the subject quickly. "Professor, do you have any idea who the other Whorecruxes are?" she asked hopefully. McGonagall picked up her empty teacup and looked at it sadly, rather wishing she had poured some of Ogden's finest instead as she pondered the best response. "I am afraid not Miss Granger. Of the 7, we only know that Nymphadora was one and you are another. We have no real idea who the other 5 could be." McGonagall decided to get up and pour that Firewhiskey, after all, it was past 4pm and she was no Sybill Trelawney. "Miss Delacour tells me you have found a way to detect other Whorecruxes, is that correct Miss Granger?" Hermione nodded and accepted the glass of amber liquid from her head of house.

"Legilimency should make it easier. I will start to reach out everywhere I go to see if I can detect anything, but really how do we narrow it down?" Hermione asked, imagining that it was going to be like looking for Leprechaun's Gold in Gringotts – difficult at first but eventually they would reveal themselves. McGonagall was looking at her with some concern. "Miss Granger, I know that this is hard, but you should begin your search with the faculty and student body as soon as possible." Hermione nodded assent but couldn't help wondering if the Professor knew more than she was saying. It was clear that the meeting was over, so Hermione and Fleur rose from the couch to leave, and headed towards the door. On the way, Fleur accidentally caught Hooch's eye and blushed again when Hooch winked at her. Really, she needed to get a grip of herself! Fleur stepped outside but as Hermione followed, Professor McGonagall stopped her by gently touching her arm. "Hermione," she paused and waited for Hermione to face her. When the Gryffindor did, the Head of House studied her face for any sign that she was afraid or in pain. "If you need to talk or you are afraid or confused, I am here for you." Hermione smiled at her favourite teacher and nodded but then turned to Fleur and slipped her fingers into the French witch's hand, interlacing them together. Fleur looked up at Professor McGonagall, silently conveying to the Professor that she would hold Hermione's hand in protection.

The two young witches walked hand in hand down the corridor and though both had a lot on their minds as the weight of the world rested on their shoulders, they were both content with the pleasant warmth of the other's skin against their own. Hermione squeezed Fleur's hand and Fleur squeezed back gently. "Are you 'ungry, 'Ermione? Can I tempt you to some dinner in my quarters?" Fleur asked the young witch while trying hard not to look eager. Hermione looked up at the Veela with interested eyes. "Yes, I'm starving and I would love to have dinner with you!" she exclaimed. Fleur grinned in response.

Dobby had brought a feast to the quarters and the two witches ate very well. Hermione filled Fleur in on Dumbledore's Army, her concerns about Harry and last but not least, her trepidations about Professor Umbridge. Fleur thought that the DA was a good idea and suggested that they might be able to get the Room of Requirement to be a suitable place to practice. Hermione tended to agree but did not want to be directly linked to the room so she and Fleur quickly deivsed a plan to allow Neville to be the one to discover it.

As the night went on, the conversation naturally turned to Whorecruxes. "Until we can determine who the next one is, there is not much more we can do, is there?" Hermione asked, not really expecting an answer. Fleur couldn't help but agree. "Oui, unfortunately zere is not much I can do ozer zan be 'ere to support you," she told Hermione, wishing that she could do more to help her young lover. Hermione reached over, took Fleur's hand and squeezed, "You can hold my hand, be here for me to talk to and listen to my ideas. I could not ask for anything more than that," she told the Veela, whose face lit up at hearing this. She smiled at Hermione who was getting up from her seat, "I should get back to the boys - now that they are all wound up about the DA I need to stop them from charging directly at Toad Face and hexing her kittens off." The two young women laughed as Fleur walked Hermione to the door. The Gryffindor opened it but not before turning back to Fleur and stretching up on her tiptoes to kiss her softly. Fleur's eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the feel of Hermione's lips pressed against her own, wishing that she could make this moment last forever.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Chapter title is a Greek Proverb. Also there is a Game of thrones quote in there just for kicks :o)**

Chapter 19 Even a wolf will not stay - Where sounds no bleat to offer hope of prey

The entire school tucked into the Halloween feast accompanied by a roar of noisy, joyful chatter, while Fleur and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table in silence. The magnitude of their task was becoming more evident with every passing minute. Fleur sipped her pumpkin juice and chose to say nothing as Hermione scanned the crowd and sighed. "This is going to be impossible!" the Gryffindor whispered, unable to hide the exasperation in her voice. Fleur nodded and continued sipping her pumpkin juice, feeling just as overwhelmed. They had come to the feast with the intention of searching for Whorecruxes, knowing that this was one event that the whole school would attend, but seeing the entire student body before them made their task seem enormous.

Hermione put down her own goblet and settled into a meditative silence as she tried to block out the hustle and bustle of the celebratory feast. With one hand resting on her wand under the table, she pressed her leg against Fleur - the previously agreed sign that she was going to attempt legilimency. Fleur set her cup down and reassuringly rubbed her own leg against the Gryffindor in encouragement. Hermione cast the spell, opening her mind out as she explored the hall. The young witch began to zoom from mind to mind, silently praying that no one would notice as she searched for the now all-too-familiar darkness.

Fleur watched over her young lover, scanning for any signs that she might be in distress. They could not afford for Hermione to collapse, especially here in front of so many people - it would cause too much of a scene. Fleur could see those chocolate coloured eyes flit from face to face as Hermione made her way mentally through the hall, hearing snatches of different thoughts as she drifted past.

"I could have sworn I had at least four tiny bottles of wine hidden in that broom cupboard. Bloody Filch."

"I wonder if Diggory knows that his new hairstyle makes him look like a complete twat?"

"I saw a bird once."

"Wonder how much charm it'll take to get Minnie to put out tonight..."

"Now let's see: I'll order 15 boxes of Custard Creams, and maybe ten packets of shortbread-"

Hermione had shared the plan with Ginny, who had eagerly agreed to help them cover up what they were doing by babbling away to Fleur and Hermione across the table so that those around them would think they were deep in conversation. Every now and then Fleur would nod at Ginny while the red-haired witch jabbered about makeup, boys and all manner of subjects which the boys would not be interested in. Fleur was sure that Ginny was making a lot of this stuff up because she'd never seen much evidence that the Weasley girl had any interest in looking particularly pretty, although she quickly put a stop to that thought on the basis that it sprung from petty jealousy and was unhelpful to their current predicament. Hermione, on the other hand, was getting tired. Sustaining the spell for so long was both physically and magically taxing and she knew she would have to stop soon or else she might pass out. She began to wonder if there were even any Whorecruxes here - what were the chances that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would be stupid enough to put his Whorecruxes in the one place he couldn't reach them? In a last-ditch attempt, Hermione expanded her reach to everyone in the great hall as a group rather than individual minds. The bushy haired witch's mouth formed an 'O' in surprise as she realised that not only had her experiment with the spell worked, (none of the books she had read mentioned the use of legilimency on multiple minds before), but also that she had successfully located at least one Whorecrux! The problem was that she couldn't identify exactly who it was - puzzlingly, she felt herself being pulled towards darkness in several directions.

Noticing that her lover had turned an unhealthy shade of white and that the leg touching hers had begun to tremble, Fleur realised that Hermione was in trouble. The French witch coughed twice into her hand then reached over and snatched Hermione's wand away from her, hoping that what the logical young witch had said earlier about this being enough to break the spell would actually work. It seemed luck was with them as Hermione suddenly slumped against Fleur in exhaustion, but at least the spell was broken. Fleur coughed twice again and Ginny took this as her cue. The Weasley girl got up from her seat and stormed over to Michael Corner, slapping him clear across the face. Silence fell through the hall as the entire student body stared at Ginny in astonishment. "That's for what you wrote on the wall in the boys bathroom!" she yelled at the unsuspecting young lad, who dropped the chicken drumstick he had been chewing on in utter bewilderment. However, Ginny was not done with her little display as she confidently strode to where Harry was sitting, took his hand and pulled him to his feet. Harry gaped at her, a look of vague terror on his handsome face as if he expected a slap too, but Ginny only winked at him before leaning in and kissing him square on the lips.

Wolf whistles and cat calls rang throughout the hall as Harry blushed furiously. Ron flushed as his little sister, who had just snogged his best mate, was now leading said best mate towards the main entrance with the same come-hither eyes that Lavender Brown had given him when she had told him she wanted to 'study' with him in the empty Arithmancy classroom. Ron was not the only one to be outraged by the display though - Umbridge was on her feet in seconds, bearing down on Ginny with righteous indignantion. "STOP. RIGHT. THERE! Not in my school, Miss Weasley!" the toad faced Professor yelled, while around her the Great Hall exploded in a cacophony of teenage excitement. "Hem! hem! I. WILL. HAVE. ORDER!" she screamed.

While all the commotion was going on, Fleur swiftly made eye contact with Professor McGonagall, who immediately saw Hermione's condition and rushed over to the Gryffindor table. Fleur hoped that McGonagall had a plan. The young witch was barely conscious but Fleur was doing her best to hold her up as the Professor reached them. "I think that is enough chaos from my house today! Gryffindors, please return to your dormitories!" McGonagall ordered, and the other professors followed suit by ordering their own houses to return to their dorms as well. Umbridge meanwhile was frog-marching both Ginny and Harry to her office. Fleur hoped their punishment would not be too severe. Since McGonagall was standing directly behind the Veela and Hermione, it was clear to them she intended them to stay while the hall cleared.

Professor Snape made his way over to the three witches, silently thrusting a potion at Fleur who unstoppered it quickly and helped Hermione drink it. Hermione perked up almost instantly and felt that she might be in some trouble as she met three angry sets of eyes. "Clearly, brightest witch of your age was an overstatement Miss Granger because only an idiot would do something as stupid as you just did!" Snape snarled at her. Hermione turned scarlet with embarrassment and ,looked to Fleur, however it did not take too long for her to realise that she would get no help from the French witch whose anger was very clearly written all over her pretty face. The young witch could not even bring herself to lift her eyes to look directly at Professor McGonagall. She could feel the disappointment radiating from the old teacher. Instead she sighed and resigned herself to the lecture that was clearly coming her way.

To Hermione's surprise, Snape simply picked up the empty potion bottle from the table, raised an eyebrow at McGonagall and swept away like a bat fleeing the scene. Professor McGonagall gave Fleur a pointed glance. The Veela nodded in reply, heading out of the Great Hall leaving Hermione alone with Professor McGonagall. The Head of House sat next to her student and sighed. "Miss Granger, I do not think that you realise the danger you just put yourself in." Professor McGonagall said quietly. Her tone was colder than normal, and Hermione felt her heart constrict with shame and rage. She felt her own anger bubbling below the surface but she pushed it back down. "Yes Professor."

Minerva sighed, this was harder than any other moment in her teaching career. She looked at Hermione, sitting there with all the stresses of surviving her teenage years, being best friends with the boy who lived and the pressure of Horcruxes and Whorecruxes on her and softened a little. Reaching out she began to tenderly rub circles into Hermione's back. "Oh Hermione, it occurs to me that we ask to much of you at times," she told her protégé, knowing exactly why the young student had done what she had. Hermione exhaled and relaxed taking comfort in the soothing motion of the professors hand. "I just thought if we could confirm that there was a Whorecrux here it would put us one step closer to getting this ghastly mission over and done with. I don't want to be that person - it won't be long before it will get around the school, you know, I already hear them whispering about Fleur and I," Hermione explained and her Head of House understood. School children could be brutal. She saw every year the results of rumour mills and bullying. "I understand Hermione - probably better than you think - but you cannot put yourself in danger like that if for no other reason then simply because we care about you. Fleur cares about you. Her anguish was plain to see on her face, surely you saw it?" Hermione thought about this for a moment. Perhaps it had not been anger she saw on Fleur's face. Maybe it had been hurt. She nodded at her Professor tentatively and McGonagall continued. "We can only hope that what you did has not tipped your hand. Severus told me that he felt a mere brushing against his mind. Bizarrely, he actually seemed somewhat impressed by the whole debacle more than anything. I do not know of any of the students who know legilimency or occlumency aside from Mr Malfoy and Severus will... take care of him."

Hermione wore shock on her face for a moment, Professor McGonagall did not push her. The girl was bright, she would come to her own realisations in her own time, and no sooner had Hermione thought 'surely the Professor did not mean that Snape would Obliviate Malfoy just to protect the secrecy of the mission?' then her shock was quickly washed away but another thought presented itself, 'in the grand scheme of things what was a little memory tampering?' and in those moments Hermione seemed to grow a little older inside her mind. McGonagall took a moment of silence to mourn another piece of Hermione's innocence being taken away from her as she realised that her teachers were constantly manipulating things for the greater good and sometimes they did so on the wrong side of the rules. Such was war. Such was life. The moment passed without remark. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke again. "Miss Granger, never forget what you are, be that books and cleverness or someone who accepts a mission that others would turn from, for surely the world will not forget. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you." For the first time Hermione turned to look at her mentor but Professor McGonagall was staring off into the distance, perhaps armouring herself. Hermione nodded again. "I should go and apologise to Fleur," she stated softly. Professor McGonagall smiled at her. It was weak and watery but it was a smile nonetheless. "Yes, I believe an apology will go far with her, and perhaps you might offer some reassurance. She is afraid as well whether she admits it or not," McGonagall advised.

Hermione murmured her agreement to Professor McGonagall and got up from her seat, for some reason feeling that she had had the worst telling off of her life because she knew that those she respected most were disappointed in her actions. It was with a glum expression on her face that she turned to leave, but before she could take a step McGonagall gently touched her arm, and Hermione turned back to her Professor. "Did it work?" the Professor asked the young witch could not stop the victorious grin from spreading across her face. "Yes Professor. I now know that there are three, possibly even four, Whorecruxes who were in the great hall tonight though I could not identify them directly. It seems rather foolish of You-Know-Who to have all his Whorecruxes in the school don't you think Professor?" she asked the wiser witch.

The Professor got up and walked with Hermione, "I believe it to be more likely that it is an unfortunate coincidence as opposed to intentional on Tom's part. Even if it were four plus yourself and Tonks that is still only 6 Whorecrues so there is another out there somewhere for us to discover. I imagine that while in such a big group you could not identify them, you must find a way, a safe way, to test smaller groups and I would not rule out anyone. Do not make the mistake of assuming that they are all students Miss Granger, for we know Tom can be unorthodox in his methods at times," She told the young witch. Hermione considered this, though she did not want to, what the Professor was suggesting implied that the teaching staff could also be Whorecruxes, the thought sent a shiver down Hermione's spine and she shook it off, "Yes Professor," she answered.

Professor McGonagall smiled as they reached the door to Fleur's quarters. "Yes well good luck with...all this," she waved at the door with a vague flap of her hand, and Hermione felt resignation creep across her face. "Remember, Miss Granger, apologise and reassure. The rest will take care of itself." Hermione bowed her head to the Professor who squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and left as the young witch nervously knocked on the door.

As soon as her fist connected with the door, it flew open and Fleur stood holding it with white knuckles. "Come in 'Ermione," Fleur gestured and Hermione gingerly stepped through the door. It was promptly closed behind her. Hermione went over and sat on the couch studying Fleur's face as she did so. It was unusually red and blotchy, particularly around her eye. The French witch had obviously been crying. Hermione sighed as the Veela paced. She sat in silence trying to give Fleur some time to process whatever it was she was feeling. After a few moments Hermione patted the couch. "Please, come and sit down Fleur." The blonde obediently sat on the couch next to Hermione but would not look at her. "Fleur, please," Hermione said in a shaking voice and when the blonde did not respond she reached over and lifted Fleur's chin so that she had no option but to look at the younger witch. Hermione took a deep breath. "I am sorry, I really am. What I did was very foolish. I hadn't thought it through at all. I didn't mean to scare you." Fleur looked visibly relieved as some tears spilled from her eyes. Hermione reached up and wiped them away. "Shhh it is ok, I am fine, please don't cry."

Hermione pulled the Veela into her arms and summoned a blanket, wrapping it tightly around them. Fleur had not said a word but seemed content to rest in Hermione's lap under the blanket. She reached up and kissed Hermione gently, who returned the kiss with a smile. Hermione pulled out of the kiss after a moment. "We will have to have disagreements more often if this is how we make up," she smirked and leaned in for another kiss. This time it was Fleur who pulled out of the kiss. "I 'ave, how you say, grown quite fond of you, 'Ermione Granger, which is why I want you to promise me zat you will not take anymore of zese silly risks." Fleur fixed Hermione with a pointed stare. In response Hermione pulled Fleur into her arms. "How about I promise not to do anything rash without thinking it through?" she said, stroking Fleur's head reassuringly as she replied, letting her know that she genuinely meant it. Fleur thought about this for a moment. "Oui, zis is an acceptable compromise," she smiled and offered her lips to Hermione who took them in yet another passionate kiss.

Without breaking the kiss, Fleur twisted so that she was stretched out on top of Hermione. She reached up, combing her hand through the Gryffindor's bushy hair, pulling her closer. Moments later the pair were panting as they could not seem to get enough of each other, hands desperately roaming across bodies as they fought to get closer. Hermione pulled away and smiled at Fleur, kissing her forehead. She wanted to continue but at the same time she felt drained. Fleur looked at Hermione and could see the exhaustion on her face. Getting up from the couch, she held her hand out to the younger witch who took it readily. Fleur led Hermione into the bedroom and began very gently pulling the tired witch's robes off. Hermione, though feeling a little shy, did not argue with Fleur as she allowed the Veela to tenderly strip her naked. Then the young witch watched as Fleur stripped her own clothing off and climbed into bed, pulling Hermione to her chest as she wrapped her arms around the Gryffindor protectively. The two witches lay there entwined and relaxed at the feel of the skin to skin contact. This felt like the most intimate Hermione had been with anyone. She rather liked it when their skin touched. There was something that just felt so good about the close contact with Fleur - nothing to do with sex or lust, but rather safety and comfort. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep. Fleur too felt the comfort of having Hermione's skin next to hers. Having the young witch in her arms just felt 'right', like this was how they belonged.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Reviews keep us very happy to thanks and mad love to reviewers**

**Fun Fact: Clemence Poesy (aka Fleur Delacour) stated once in an interview that 'Christ on a bike' was one of her favourite British expressions – which is why we keep reffering to it :o) Mad LOLZ**

Chapter 20 - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (its a Jack Johnson song)

Hermione threw herself down on the bench next to Harry, harder than she'd really intended, and sighed loudly as she picked up her fork and began to push some mash around on her plate, not interested at all in the meal in front of her. Fleur, sitting beside Ginny and opposite Hermione, was studying her young lover. It had been two weeks since the Halloween feast. Two weeks of searching for the identity of a Whorecrux. Two weeks of nothing but increasing frustration. Hermione's face was pale, punctuated by the deep purple bags under her eyes that had started to resemble bruises. Fleur couldn't stop worrying about the bushy haired young witch - Hermione wasn't sleeping properly and she certainly was not eating properly. Fleur could nag until she was blue in the face (and in fact had already done so) but the Gryffindor continued to stubbornly push herself too hard.

"Hermione, can you use the coins to let everyone know that we are going to have a DA meeting tonight?" Harry whispered to her. "It'll probably be the last one we can manage before the holidays." Hermione nodded her head and looked up at Fleur to find the bright blue eyes of the French witch studying her intently. Not wanting to worry the blonde witch further, Hermione began to pick at her steak pie, mash and vegetables and managed to reluctantly eat half of her dinner before deciding that she really could not face another forkful. She pushed the plate away and got up from the table. As she headed for the door, Fleur followed. "'Ermione," she called, approaching the Gryffindor, but before she could say anything more Umbridge appeared beside them.

"Hem, hem!" The toad-faced professor announced her presence with her usual false chirpy cough. It was worse than hearing the teenage Mandrakes scream. "Miss Delacour, how... delightful to see you again. I see that you have somehow made your way onto the staff as Teaching Assistant to Professor McGonagall," she stated rather frostily. Hermione hid her surprise as this was news to her as well, though it made a certain amount of sense. Fleur turned to Umbridge, a forced smile on her face. "Oui Professor, Transfiguration 'as always been a subject of interest for me. When Tante Minerva told me at tea a few weeks ago that she was considering taking on an assistant, I applied for ze job. Of course I 'ave a letter of recommendation from every member of ze board of Governors, and Minister Fudge was more zan 'appy to 'ave me apply to aid in ze international magical co-operation 'e 'as recently launched," Fleur explained.

Umbridge pressed her lips together. Clearly she did not like Fleur, but with Cornelius Fudge endorsing her presence there was not much the pink-clad Professor could do about it. "Very well Miss Delacour," she said primly. "But I want to hear about your progress in great detail. Please have a weekly report on my desk by 4pm each Friday. I shall be keeping a very close eye on you." Umbridge smirked, clearly believing she thought she had one up on the French witch. Fleur nodded. "But of course Professor," she said smoothly, then turned back to Hermione. "Miss Granger, your transfiguration essay addressed some interesting topics, 'owever I would like to recommend some amendments. Please meet me in 30 minutes so that we might go over zese... improvements," Fleur said. Hermione got the message loud and clear and nodded her agreement, "Yes Miss Delacour," she replied, and walked away to activate the coins as Harry had suggested.

Fleur reclined on the couch in her quarters with a book propped up against her knee, reading. At least that was what she was trying to do but she found it particularly difficult as she was now checking her watch every 4 words, and for the last thirty minutes, they had in fact been the same 4 words. The fact that she couldn't have said what they were only served to annoy her further. Her anger simmered and began to grow to a boil, frothing over into the room at large. It had been just over three hours since Hermione had left her at the entrance to the great hall. She had expected Hermione to drop by BEFORE the DA meeting as agreed, but the time for the meeting had long since come and gone. Fleur sighed in irritation as she tossed the book haphazardly onto the couch and got up to pace on the ghastly rug that covered the floor. Hands on her hips, unable to help from strutting slightly, Fleur walked the length of the room, turned abruptly and walked back again, each quick step fuelling the fire in her belly. It was just inconsiderate! When you tell someone that you will meet them then you either fulfill that obligation or you send them an owl, you most certainly do not leave them for hours on end to worry!

Fleur looked at her watch again. It was now approaching 10pm and her annoyance seemed to be giving way to fear as she felt adrenaline bubbling in her stomach like a flock of butterflies trying to burst out. Just as she was about to give herself a pep talk for being so foolish (after all, it had been said many times that Hogwarts was the safest place to be) there was a faint tap at the door. She strode towards it and opened it swiftly. Hermione stood before her, cheeks flushed and rosy, with a wide, delighted grin on her face, totally oblivious to the French witch's rising annoyance. Wordlessly, Fleur stepped aside, allowing Hermione to enter the room before giving the door a hearty shove, slamming it shut with a resounding crack. The young Gryffindor did not seem to notice the slamming or indeed Fleur's irritation and began to speak very quickly and excitedly. "I didn't think it was possible, Fleur - I mean, four houses with seven years of students each plus the faculty is a lot of people! You know, it even occurred to me that we might have to consider the house elves, but I suppose we can revisit that idea when we are desperate. I'm just relieved that we have finally found one and can make some headway on this mission! I think we should start as soon as possible don't you agree?" Hermione finally took a breath and looked expectantly at Fleur. She was startled at the look of pure rage on the French witch's face, and disappointed to see that the Veela did not even seem to care about her new piece of vital information.

"Fleur?" the young witch asked tentatively. She was clearly missing something here. "Are you alright?" she continued cautiously. "Oui!" the Veela snapped, though the answer was clearly a lie. Hermione took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the exhaustion that you can only acquire by hunting for Whorecruxes in a school the size of Hogwarts, and smoothed her skirt over her knee in quick, deliberate motions. "Well. It's obvious that you are not alright, but if you don't want to tell me what it is that has you so worked up then don't. I won't force you. I'll just leave, shall I?" Hermione was now spitting the words as she got up from her seat and took steps towards the door, feeling more hurt than angry that Fleur did not seem to be appreciating their new breakthrough, and utterly bewildered at this new state of events.

"Do not be ridiculous. 'Oo is ze 'Orcrux?" Fleur said quickly, before Hermione could reach the door. The Gryffindor spun around. "Oh, suddenly interested are you?" she hissed at Fleur, her complete exhaustion making controlling her emotions almost impossible. Then, realising that she had been asked a question that she knew the answer to, she replied before she could stop herself. "It's Cho Chang - the one Harry had a crush on." It was delivered with an air of smugness that Hermione Granger in her normal state would not have been able to muster. Fleur took a deep breath. She knew that Hermione had not understood her frustration and probably had no idea why she was so angry. The Veela turned away from the younger witch and walked to the bookcase, running her slender finger along the spines in a slow, calming motion. "So tell me, 'ow did you locate 'er?" the French witch asked as she exhaled quietly, trying to relax. Hermione turned around and walked back to the couch. Sitting down again, she studied Fleur's ramrod posture and realised that there must be a reason for the sudden anger. The logical young witch forced her tone to soften as she explained. "Well, I figured I might as well test those in the DA since it was probably going to be the last chance to check some of the Ravenclaws until after Christmas, and I was standing there practicing my Patronus charm and testing the group before me when suddenly I recognised that dark feeling. I started at one end of the room and began to eliminate people one by one under the premise of coaching. Cho was the last one I tested. I actually thought for a moment that I had made a mistake but then she was kissing Harry under the mistletoe and I decided to take my chance with Legilimens." Fleur spun around and studied the young witch who had just freely admitted to being reckless again and sighed, feeling her irritation boil up, again.

"So, despite promising me that you would not put yourself in danger, you did so once again! Is zat what you are telling me?" the French witch snapped at her young counterpart and suddenly it was Hermione's turn to be enraged. "I promised you that I would think things through before I acted and that is precisely what I did! I have been practicing with small groups on Professor Snape's recommendation! Despite what you might think, I'm not foolish enough to make the same mistake twice!" Hermione yelled back at the Veela as she leapt to her feet. Fleur was so angry she could actually feel her whole body shaking. The Veela strode forward until she was toe to toe with the young witch. "Zat is not what I am talking about! I am talking about you expending all your magical energy until you are too exhausted to eat every night! I am talking about school and exams and DA and 'orcruxes and 'orecruxes! I am talking about working yourself into the infirmary if you are not careful! I am talking about your recklessness! In ze mean time I sit here and I worry about you for 'ours on end because you do not come when we 'ave arranged, not even ze courtesy to send me a note and tell me you are delayed - non, you are too busy off being a...a voyeur! Watching some scarlet woman kissing your friend!" Fleur's face was flushed as she finally finished spewing her emotional unrest at Hermione.

The logical witch stood in astonishment for a moment, not quite able to process everything that Fleur had just said. She honed in on the one thing she could immediately refute and in the same calm and even tone she used on the boys when they tried to copy her homework, she told the French witch, "Cho is not even like that! She is really quite intelligent - Professor McGonagall once allowed me to read over her Advanced Transfiguration essays..." She broke off when Fleur threw her hands up in the air as she exclaimed "Mon Dieu, 'Ermione, are you even listening to me?" in disgust, and walked away from the younger witch lest she actually strangle her.

Hermione's gast was flabbered as she opened her mouth to retort defiantly, and then closed it again in despair, feeling that nothing she could say at this point would redeem her in Fleur's eyes. She sank down onto the seat and tried to figure out what it was that she had done to upset her lover. Fleur saw this as a break in Hermione's defences and immediately went in for the kill. "Oh, ze cleverest witch in school is lost for words, hmm? Why not go and ask Cho Chang if she is so smart? You are ze one so desperate to 'get started' wiz 'er!" Fleur's hand shot to her mouth as if to stop those last few words from escaping but it was too late. She had spoken them and they had hurtled towards Hermione like those tiny winged keys had in first year - only this time she did not have a door to hide behind to protect her or her friends to hold her hand and give her encouragement. Each word struck her with all the force of a hex to the heart. The bushy-haired witch could only stand there as the venom behind Fleur's words tore through her, willing herself not to cry. Her body trembled violently and the hurt was written plain across her face. Fleur could see that she had gone too far and reaching out to Hermione, took a tentative step forwards. "Do not touch me right now, Fleur," the request had come out in almost a whisper. The Veela stopped, arm still outstretched and was not quite sure what to do. She waited, giving her lover time to calm down. Hermione fixed the French witch with a glare that was so fiery that the Veela shifted uncomfortably, feeling as though she might actually begin to sizzle. The logical witch chose her words carefully before speaking in the same low whisper. "I am really not sure what hurts more - the fact that you think, after everything I have told you, that I am actually somehow enjoying this mission, or my life at the moment for that matter, OR the fact that I trusted you to trust me and you have let me down," Hermione paused for a moment and Fleur opened her mouth but the Gryffindor was not quite finished. "It may surprise you to know, Fleur Delacour, that we are the very 'scarlet women' that you accuse Cho of being! You better get used to that label, because we are only one Whorecrux down, with five still to go, and I am not even counting myself in that total. I came down here tonight because I wanted to celebrate a win, but instead you dump this bullshit on me! Well, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I'm sorry that my attempts to save the wizarding world got in the way of my stupid transfiguration essay. I'm sorry that I'm not living up to your expectations. But most of all, I am sorry that you do not trust me."

Hermione calmly got up, walked to the door, opened it and walked out slamming it behind her. Fleur stared in disbelief at the door her lover had just walked out of and sank to her knees. The tears fell from her eyes as she huffed and then screamed in rage, fists pounding on the floor. "Christ on a bike!" she cried out in frustration, as she realised that she had screwed up and would need to fix this. Hermione walked as calmly as she could down the corridor and it was not until she was around the corner that she realised couldn't hold it in a second longer. She leaned against the wall, sobbing her heart out, and that was where Professor McGonagall, pockets of her tartan dressing gown bulging with tiny wine bottles, found her ten minutes later. Minerva gave her a knowing look over the rim of her spectacles, twisted the lid off of a tiny wine and handed it to Hermione who drank it down in one gulp. "Come Hermione, I have a 300 year old bottle of firewhiskey I was saving for just such an occasion as this."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N Sorry for those of you the last chapter upset. It will get better.**

Chapter 21 - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Hermione rolled over and let out a pained groan. Her head was positively pounding. She cracked her eyes open to find out why her world was trembling. A blurry hand swam into vision, thrusting a hangover cure at her. She groaned again. Logically she knew that the hangover potion would make her feel better, but the very thought of having to move made her want to vomit. She took a deep breath, forced herself to sit up and instantly regretted it as her nausea grew tenfold. Taking the offered potion (which the owner of the hand had very thoughtfully unstoppered for her), she pressed it to her lips and tried not to tip her head as she sucked the potion down.

Almost instantly her world came into focus. Hermione cast her eyes around the room and suppressed a third groan as they fell on Professor McGonagall. She looked down quickly and was relieved to see that not only was she still fully clothed and had no visible feathers, she was sitting on the couch in the Head of House's study. Clearly there had been a different kind of party last night than the ones Fred and George usually had in the Gryffindor common room. Professor McGonagall gave her a reassuring smile. "First hangover, Miss Granger?" she asked her student, while she tried not to smirk at the irony. Hermione, on the other hand, just stared back at her Professor with wide, somewhat glassy eyes as she replayed the night's events in her head. McGonagall walked to her desk and picked up a fresh towel indicating to one of the many doors to her study, "You would benefit from a shower, Miss Granger. I have already asked Dobby to get some clean clothing for you. We will talk when you are done." Hermione nodded and got up onto unsteady feet, pausing before stumbling over to the indicated door. "Hermione," Professor McGonagall called out. The tired young witch turned to the Professor with an eyebrow raised, which Minerva privately found amusing, "Do remember to brush your teeth, dear, your breath smells like Sybil Trelawney!" she told her young charge. Hermione gaped, more than a little mortified at the entire situation, and fled through the door.

Thirty minutes, a lot of hot water and a short but much-needed cry later, Hermione stepped back into Professor McGonagall's study. The Professor sat at her desk pouring tea into two china teacups. She set down the old English teapot and waved a cup and saucer in Hermione's direction. The young witch accepted it from her Head of House with relatively steady hands. "Thank you Professor," she said as she took the seat at the other side of the desk. Hermione tentatively sipped the steaming hot tea and considered the situation. She just could not shake the feeling that she was somehow in trouble with the Head of House. Logically, she knew that she had done nothing wrong, exactly - she wasn't counting the snoot full she'd had to drink last night, mainly because it would not have occurred to her to drown her sorrows unless Professor had not suggested it first - but the feeling in her gut refused to shift. Hermione set her teacup on the desk with a soft clink and absentmindedly ran her fingers through her still damp hair, unable to make eye contact with her Professor, who in turn was studying Hermione with an unreadable expression.

"Hermione..." Professor McGonagall began and then paused, waiting for some sign that the Gryffindor was listening. Suddenly, Hermione found herself unable to lift her gaze or acknowledge that the Professor had spoken to her. The clever young witch felt as though she had been asked a question and not only did she not know the answer, but she could not even figure out what the damn question was! She felt her cheeks burn and took a deep breath as though bracing for a body blow. Her anxiety-ridden state did not go unnoticed by McGonagall who inwardly cursed herself. Perhaps she should have let Rolanda handle it - after all, she had always been much better with the emotional side of things. They had discussed it late last night after Hermione had poured her heart out to them over Fleur and their argument, between great, heaving sobs and snotters. Rolanda had campaigned quite vigorously to be allowed to speak with a sober Hermione, to explain to her some of the intricate webs woven by the female heart, however Minerva was quite protective whenever it came to her cubs and doubly so when it came to this particular one. She had decided it was best handled herself. Rolanda had only frowned in response.

Hermione reminded Minerva far too much of herself as a teenager - advanced beyond her years and top of the class at almost every subject – the exception being, of course, affairs of the heart. She understood what it was like to be completely clueless when it came to love, lust and the minefield that was teenage relationships. She had wanted to spare Hermione from this but it seemed that as the old saying goes, the best laid plans of goblins and wizards... The one thing that she could do for Hermione was to be there in moments like last night, and advise her tactfully how to fix it. The rest was up to Hermione herself. Minerva was pulled from her thoughts and brought back to the matter at hand by Hermione's soft sigh. The Professor uncharacteristically got up from her seat and joined her cub on the other side of the table. She sat beside Hermione and took the small hand in her own. Minerva made a conscious effort to soften her voice as she spoke. "Hermione, from what you told me last night it is clear that your biggest mistake with Fleur was that you did not fully grasp why she was upset, and that in fact caused her to become more upset," Minerva paused for a minute before continuing. "I made a similar mistake when I was not too much older than you. Now, I know that this is going to be hard to hear but dear, you were wrong and you need to apologise." Minerva squeezed Hermione's hand as she said it and when Hermione opened her mouth to defend herself, Minerva silenced her cub with a pointed look that brooked no argument. "I know that you are not used to being wrong, but one thing that you should probably learn if you are going to continue this relationship with Fleur is that where you are driven by logic, Fleur is driven by a far more unpredictable beast: emotion. You cannot predict when it is going to possess her and cause her to become upset the way she was last night. All you can do is find the root of it, try to deal with it and above all, apologise and reassure."

Hermione mulled this over for some time, still holding the Head of House's hand but taking a couple of sips from her tea as she considered what she had been told. She knew that Fleur would not have been upset with her for no reason so she replayed the whole argument once more. The reason hit her brain like a bludger to the head! She groaned once again. Minerva could see that the knut had dropped and she offered her cub another reassuring smile. "Have a biscuit, Hermione, I am sure that this situation can be... salvaged." The Professor told Hermione, quite proud that she had figured it out without actually having it spelled out to her. She got up and walked around to the other side of the desk to pull a biscuit tin out of her drawer, offering it to Hermione who, not wanting to appear rude although not entirely in the mood for a biscuit, selected a piece of shortbread and set about dunking slowly it in her tea while she tried to figure out how to apologise to Fleur for making her worry.

Fleur stood in front of the mirror in her private bathroom and examined herself critically. Her eyes were red and puffy due to a lack of sleep and an abundance of crying. For the same reasons, her face was pink and blotchy in some places and very pale in others. All in all, it was not an attractive sight. She sighed as she wrapped a large fluffy towel around herself and wandered out of the bathroom. The Veela tried to remember the last time a long hot bubble bath had not soothed her and could not, but then she did not think she could remember ever being so angry before either. She had not slept at all - to the contrary, she had spent much of the night pacing as she battled with her emotions. A part of her wanted to run after Hermione and apologise for her harsh words (and she had admitted to herself that she had definitely overstepped with the Cho Chang comment) but the rest of her wanted to slap the selfish little chit for being so inconsiderate. Fleur was certain, however, that the thing that upset her the most was precisely how upset and emotionally confused she was over the bushy-haired girl. It had been around 4am, right after she had resolved to cut all social ties with the frustratingly emotionally-mute young witch and keep her mind purely on the mission, that Fleur had come to the shocking conclusion that she had done more than just fallen in love with Hermione; she must have actually begun the Veela bonding process. The realisation had struck her like a Crucio to the heart, shocking her to the core. She comforted herself with one small but definitive fact: if she and Hermione were destined to be soulmates bound together for the rest of their lives she was bloody well not going to apologise for worrying about her. With that sulky thought, she threw on some jogging pants and a hooded Hogwarts sweatshirt, and swore before Circe that she was absolutely not going to go look for a certain Gryffindor student. She was simply going for a morning jog around the lake to burn off her excess energy.

Twenty minutes later Fleur re-entered the castle as the first students were filing into the Great Hall for breakfast. She made her way back through the halls to her quarters and was stunned to find Madame Hooch standing at her door, conversing quietly with the portrait on the wall. Hooch's hawklike eyes swept over the French witch as she approached. "Mmhmm," the flying instructor said loudly. Fleur did not say a word but challenged the gaze. She entered her quarters, leaving the door open so that Hooch could follow as she presumably wished to do. Fleur grabbed a fluffy towel and a bottle of water that she had left out in preparation for her return, and dabbed the sweat from her face. She began to sip the water as she attempted to rehydrate her now aching body and figure out what the crude woman could possibly want from her.

Hooch sat herself down on the couch, legs splayed open carelessly, and watched Fleur expectantly. "I used to run, you know," she said after a moment, when it was clear that the French witch was not feeling talkative. "It's great for the old sexual frustration, though I would like to recommend flying instead - nothing like a broom between your legs, eh? Unless its a woman! Eh? Eh?" Fleur flushed, completely embarrassed, and tried not to spit her water all over the room. She failed rather dismally. Hooch allowed herself a little chuckle as Fleur picked up the towel and dabbed her face again. "I am exactly not in ze mood for jokes, Madame 'Ooch!" the Veela snapped and for some reason felt the need to clarify further, "and I am not, as you say, sexually frustrated, zank you very much!" The indignation in Fleur's voice was clear and Hooch thought that once again Minerva had the easier of the two tasks. Then she remembered that there would be hell to pay if Minerva even discovered she had been here. The Transfigurations professor had been quite explicit in her belief that there would be no explicitness for several weeks if Rolanda got involved. Hooch swallowed at the thought, and then turned her attention back to the French witch. "Well, we both know that you didn't get any last night because your girl was too busy cock-blocking me as she drank herself into oblivion and cried her heart out over you!" the normally jovial flight instructor snapped at the Veela. Fleur was surprised at the news - she knew that Hermione had left upset but perhaps she had not quite realised the depth of the Gryffindor's hurt. She felt guilt tighten its grip around her heart before she shook it off and summoned her resolve. "Zat is 'er own fault!" The French witch snapped back.

Hooch sighed. This one is as hard headed as they come, she thought to herself and decided to change her approach. "I think that you are probably right Fleur, Hermione certainly holds the lion's share of the blame in this situation-" the comparison to the house mascot was not lost on Fleur as Hooch continued, "-but let me remind you, YOU chose to pursue a relationship with this young witch and one of the fallouts of that choice is that she is not always going to 'get it' first time. I'm not telling you to let her thoughtlessness go unmentioned, I'm just saying that when she comes crawling back on her knees - and she will because she is completely head over heels for you even if she can be a stroppy little twat at times - then just, well... don't let her stay there too long?" Hooch let the question hang in the air. Fleur had turned her back on the crude witch as she absorbed all the insights she's just been privy to. 'Head over heels' - if that was true then it was great news because she was about to turn the young witch's world upside down when she found out about the bonding, and Fleur was certain that Hermione was intelligent enough to know what it meant. She was after all the brightest witch of her age. And, Fleur surmised, the most infuriating, the most stubborn, the most wilfully ignorant of personal risk, the most... beautiful. Dammit, she thought with a grimace.

The flight instructer examined the Veela and suspected that there was a lot more going on in that pretty head than considering whether or not to make Hermione grovel for a night or two. She got up from her seat, smirking slightly, and walked around so that she was standing face to face with Fleur. "What is it?" she asked, not even bothering to beat around the dirigible plums. Fleur cursed herself for being so transparent and tried to subtly pull the sleeve of her sweatshirt to cover her wrist. "Nozzing, I am just... overwhelmed with ze entire situation and, and, frustrated!" Fleur lied to Madame Hooch. The older witch was not fooled. Her sharp eyes had caught sight of the purple mottling on Fleur's wrist. "Merlin's saggy ball sack!" Hooch exclaimed as she grabbed Fleur's hand and yanked her sleeve up. Fleur snatched her wrist back, affronted. "Mademoiselle! Do you mind!" she barked at the flying instructor, her patience fraying on the last taut threads of dignity. Hooch took a step back quickly as she considered the implications and smiled. Fleur raised a questioning eyebrow at her, then sighed, she was too tired to play games with this loathsome woman, "eet definitely complicates matters," she told Hooch hoping that the annoying woman would leave it at that, she was disappointed. Hooch balked at the statement, "Complicates matters? That is a bit like saying there are some galleons in Gringotts! Sweet Circe Minerva will kill you if she finds out." Hooch exclaimed.

Fleur started to focus on her shoes and said nonchalantly, "I do not imagine 'Ermione will be overjoyed either." Hooch was stunned into silence. She could see that the Veela was struggling with this and wanted to reassure her, but she also knew how many hours Minnie stayed awake worrying about Hermione and did not want to be anywhere near ground zero when either of them found out. "Your secret is safe with me – for a while, but you need to sort this out sooner rather than later Fleur." Hooch told her using her flight instructor's voice with an air of authority. Fleur simply shook her head in agreement and sighed, again.

Hooch headed for the door, "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now not for a complete set of chocolate frog cards! It is more important than ever that you sort this mess out with Hermione, but don't give in to her too easy or Merlin knows she will walk all over you if you you let her!" and with that Hooch winked and walked out the door. Fleur huffed and threw herself down on the couch, everything was such a mess and she wanted to run away from it all, perhaps go back to France for a while and sit with her Maman, she would know how to fix this. But she knew it was wishful thinking, Hermione would never forgive her if she left now, plus she was depending on Fleur to help her with the Whorecruxes. She got up and resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be a long day as she headed to the bathroom to shower off.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Thanks for all the reviews – please keep them coming as we do love them.**

Chapter 22 Apologise and Reassure

Hermione tossed and turned restlessly in her bed, kicking the duvet off. Ginny had visited her only moments before, trying fruitlessly to coax her to go down to dinner with them, she had refused. She felt sick. Her whole world felt wrong, off-kilter, and she was sure it was more to do with the fight with Fleur than the successful identification of another Whorecrux. Feeling lethargic, she rolled over and stared through the gap that Ginny had left in the drapes. The feisty redhead had promised Hermione that if she was still in bed when she came back from dinner that Ginny was going to drag her out forcibly by the ankles. Cursing the redhead for being so stubborn, and aware that she would carry out the threat without hesitation, Hermione threw open the drapes and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her stiff body protested as she got to her feet but she ignored it and started choosing clothes to wear. Her muscles were sore and tight because she had been in bed all day, heartsick. She screwed her face up in disdain as soon as she had labelled that feeling and headed to the prefects bathroom. Hopefully a nice long soak would soothe her aching muscles and calm her shredded nerves.

After her bath she snuck back to Gryffindor tower, dropped off her things and made her way to the kitchens, glad not to meet anyone she knew on the way. Tickling the pear in the painting, she stepped into what was the hustle and bustle of the Hogwarts kitchens at meal times, which was only marginally less crowded than Kings Cross Station during rush hour. Hermione chose to take a seat in the corner and wait patiently for things to settle down a bit. She thought that Dobby might have had a heart attack by the way he squealed shrilly in indignation when he finally saw her sitting there, being ignored by the other house elves, but she was able to soothe him relatively quickly. Dobby confirmed that Fleur had not made it to dinner in the Great Hall. Hermione nodded in satisfaction and told him what she needed, reeling off her ingredient list. The house elf barely paused before he set to work collecting everything.

After the whole S.P.E.W. incident, the rest of the house elves had given Hermione a wide berth, lest she maliciously (as they saw it) try to set them free, so as she and Dobby cooked they talked very loudly about how she knew that she had not really understood the issue and now that she did she promised not to give any more house elves an item of clothing unless they had specifically asked for it first. She was getting rather tired of doing her own laundry all the time and hoped that the other house elves would end their boycott and help her out a little so she could focus more on her studies. Dobby smiled proudly as the other house elves eventually started to approach tentatively and began chatting away to the pair. Just under an hour later, Hermione stared proudly at the dish that the elves had helped her prepare. Dobby provided her with a tray and plate cover and gave her a reassuring pat on the knee, since that was the most appropriate part of her that he could reach. "Miss Delacour will love it, Miss Granger," he told his friend. She looked at him unconvinced, biting her bottom lip with some concern, and he grinned widely back at her. Hermione relented, flashed what she had intended to be a smile at him but came out a bit more like a grimace, and picked up the tray.

Winky insisted on going with her to hold open doors and such, much to Hermione's delight, and so the two walked down the empty corridors side by side on their way to Fleur's quarters. Hermione had known it would be quiet as it was Slytherin Quidditch practice tonight and the Slytherins always came back in a foul mood. All the other houses had learned to go straight to their common rooms to avoid being on the wrong end of a stinging jinx and/or a reduction in House points due to fighting. Hermione stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. Shaking a little, she thought for a moment that she was going to chicken out entirely, or possibly faint, but before she could do either, Winky knocked on the door then quickly vanished with a loud 'pop', leaving her standing alone and helpless in front of the door.

Hermione's breath caught in her chest when the door swung open. Fleur stood there, radiating beauty from every pore. Hermione suddenly felt rather inadequate in comparison. The French witch took in the sight before her as she waited for Hermione to say something - she smelled like strawberries and cream. Freshly bathed, Fleur deduced, and for some reason could not quite push the image of a bubble-clad Hermione entirely out of her mind. The younger witch cleared her throat. "I understand that you did not make it down to dinner, so I have... well, I've made you some myself." She almost tripped over the words but eventually, seemingly by accident, they fell out of her mouth. Hermione couldn't bring herself to make direct eye contact with Fleur but at the same time she could not bring herself to tear her eyes away from her beautiful body either.

Fleur stifled a giggle at the awkwardness Hermione was displaying as she chewed on her lip and looked anywhere but at Fleur's face. The Veela found that it took all of her willpower not to give in to her desires right there and then and let the younger witch off the hook, but Hooch's words about not giving in too easily rang in her head and she knew the crass woman was right - well, to a certain extent. Instead of taking the tray from Hermione, slinging it on the floor and ravishing her lips, as she dearly wished to do at that moment, Fleur stood aside allowing her entrance to the room. Hermione stepped inside, made her way over to the table and gratefully set the tray down. It hadn't been particularly heavy but carrying it for so long had caused some discomfort in her arms.

Fleur closed the door as Hermione entered and leaned against it, arms folded petulantly across her chest. She still hadn't said anything but this was Hermione's show. The younger witch turned to Fleur and met her eyes for the first time. The sorrow in them made Fleur feel that her heart was melting right there and then, puddling on the hideous carpet. "I was wrong Fleur and I'm truly sorry," Hermione said quietly, then remembering McGonagall's mantra of 'apologise and reassure' she quickly added, " and it won't happen again." Fleur considered her words very carefully, nodded her appreciation for the apology and walked over to the table. "Zank you for zat, but I need to know what exactly eet iz zat you are apologising for, ozerwise eet is just words, comprende?" the Veela responded and, though the words may have seemed harsh, she had softened her tone so that Hermione would know she was not trying to start another fight. Fleur seated herself at the table and looked at Hermione intently. It was her turn to chew on her lip, while the younger witch looked very unsure of herself as she considered what Fleur had said.

Hermione cursed herself. Of course it wouldn't be that easy to simply apologise and be done with this awful argument. Fleur deserved more than that. The young witch took a deep breath and tried to force her body to relax. She wanted nothing more than this moment to be over. "Fleur, I shouldn't have made you worry. I was short sighted and did not consider your feelings and that is a mistake I will never make again because to think that something I have done causes you even a little discomfort...well it just makes me feel wretched! I don't know why, but it does. I have absolutely hated these last 24 hours."

To say that Fleur was astonished at the words was a vast understatement. Not only had Hermione actually understood where she had gone wrong but she had admitted to some deep feelings; she had left herself out there, emotionally vulnerable. Suddenly, Fleur realised that Hooch had been dead wrong - Hermione would never intentionally 'walk all over' Fleur or her feelings - to the contrary, Hermione was so young, so inexperienced and so... desperate... to have her feelings reciprocated that she would leave herself unshielded and easily attacked. The current state of things worried Fleur no end. She would need to teach Hermione to protect herself better than this. A different person to Fleur might take advantage of her and crush her tender heart. Fleur rose to her feet and walked over to Hermione, wrapping her arms around her. The younger witch's body shuddered as the tension of the last few hours left her body in the form of a torrent of tears.

The moment she was in Fleur's arms, the wave of relief that swept through Hermione's body felt like a bolt of pure electricity. She threw her own arms around Fleur and swore to herself she would never let the Veela go. She nestled her head in the crook of Fleur's neck and whispered "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," over and over again. Fleur soothed as best she could, rubbing small circles on the younger witch's back and inwardly cursed. This was not the Hermione she knew. A change had already started to take place within her lover and she knew she had to deal with this, here and now, or risk losing her forever. It was a terrifying thought. She pulled away from Hermione and took her hand gently, leading back to the table. "So, will you tell me what you 'ave made for me?" Fleur asked. Hermione seemed to calm down a little as she blushed and said, "Bouillabaisse. I remembered that at the Triwizard tournament opening feast you asked Ron if you could have it, so I went to the kitchens and with the help of the elves I made some. It's probably not very good, but I hope you like it." Fleur's face lit up as her heart soared. Not only had Hermione remembered a tiny detail from two whole years ago, but she had gone to the trouble of actually making a dish from home for her. It was so thoughtful and such a heartfelt thing to do that it added additional weight to Hermione's apology.

Hermione leaned forward and lifted the plate cover off the dish. Fleur grinned as the aroma of the fish stew hit her nostrils. It looked and smelled delicious! As though all part of a great plan Fleur's stomach growled and she grabbed the fork from the tray and began to eat. Hermione sat back and watched Fleur with delight as she enjoyed the food. They eventually shared the dish and chatted about various things including Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch and their assumptions about the relationship that the two women were clearly in, no matter how much McGonagall denied it. This conversation brought Fleur nicely to the topic that she needed to discuss with Hermione.

Fleur set the fork back on the plate with a quiet clink and turned to face Hermione, taking both of her hands in her own. "'Ermione, something 'as 'appened and I need to tell you about eet." Fleur's serious tone told Hermione that whatever it was she was, in all probability, not going to like it, and it was, in all probability, not a shortage of tiny wines or news about the Slytherins training session. She took a calming breath and gave Fleur her full attention. "Please understand I did not mean for eet to 'appen, though I do not zink eet is a mistake," Fleur flashed a nervous smile at Hermione, who returned the smile with one full of reassurance. "Whatever it is Fleur, we will get through it together," she told her lover. Hermione was just happy to have Fleur back, she didn't care about whatever new problem life was about to throw at them.

'You will have no choice!' Fleur thought but she pushed this to the back of her mind. What had happened had been an accident but some research had shown that it was inevitable. Apparently, had their paths not crossed on this mission they would have in another way. Fate, it seemed, had a way of bringing bond partners together and did not take human resistance into account. "'Ow much do you know about Veela?" Fleur asked Hermione, hoping that the brightest witch of her age would be able to figure it out without her having to actually say the words. Fleur had rehearsed them to herself throughout the day but no matter how she tried to present the information, essentially she had still determined Hermione's fate without the younger witch having a clue.

"Oh I've read every book in the library. Even the ones in the restricted section, naturally. Fleur - I know what you're going to say. I mean, I had assumed that because you were a quarter Veela the effects would be somewhat different, but I knew the moment the bonding had begun, the second our hands connected during our... love making," The younger witch began to blush. "I accepted it," she finished. Fleur stood and began to pace agitatedly. Hermione followed her with her eyes while the Veela fought to control her emotions, "What exactly do you mean, 'Ermione?" she asked her young lover. Hermione walked across the room and stood before Fleur, looking straight into her eyes with an open and trusting gaze that cut through layers of skin and bone straight to the French witch's heart. "What I mean is that during... you know... well, there was a moment where I was asked to accept you and I did. It's hard to explain, even the books don't have much detail on it and I am not surprised. The only thing I was surprised at was that the books said that only Veela get asked the question. Well I'm not a Veela and I was definitely asked, though I will admit I didn't know exactly what I was answering at the time."

Fleur sank to her knees and Hermione knelt with her. "You were asked if you wanted to bond wiz me on our first night and you... said yes?" the French witch asked, her tone a little accusatory. She did not know whether to be angry with Hermione for sealing her fate without thinking this through or incredibly proud at her for accepting the bond unconditionally without any concerns. Hermione took Fleur's face in her hands and kissed her as an answer. Fleur kissed her back tenderly, but soon broke away. "But you do not know me-" her protests were cut off as Hermione leaned in and kissed her more passionately this time, pushing Fleur back until they were laying on the floor side by side, limbs entwined, kissing as though they needed it as much as they needed oxygen.

Hermione broke off the kiss eventually, mostly because she had lost all feeling in her left arm, and repositioned herself so that she could stare at Fleur, drinking in her beauty. She flexed her hand as a pins and needles sensation crept across it, telling her that her circulation was returning. She reached forward and swept a strand of hair out of Fleur's face. "I have loved you since the moment you entered the Great Hall during the Triwizard Tournament," she said honestly, and Fleur's eyes widened in shock. "Part of the reason I was so mad that you were the one chosen for this mission is because I felt you would be more of a distraction than an aid," Hermione blushed a little at her confession and then added, "anyway, do you not think that I, Hermione Jean Granger, school know-it-all, would have researched your race, your family and everything about you, Miss Fleur 1st-place-in-her-ballet-recital-when-she-was-five-years -old-Delacour?" Hermione said that last with a grin and leaned forward placing a gentle kiss on Fleur's forehead. Fleur stared at her lover in wonder before giggling and leaning forward, crashing their lips together.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N Smut alert (I mean totally relevant and yet risqué plot theme *giggles*)**

Chapter 23 The Wounded Deer

"Well she's a Ravenclaw," Hermione told Fleur as they tucked into a hearty dinner a few nights later, "which means she's very intelligent. Unfortunately for us, we are not going to get her to just stroll into the Room of Requirement without giving her a good reason." The Veela considered this and reached for more bread. "Iz she intelligent enough zat we can just tell 'er ze truth?" Fleur asked. Hermione half-choked on the mouthful of food she was trying to swallow. "Um, no. We absolutely cannot do that. She is fragile, crying all the time - this is a lot to take in. She would probably...well. She would probably just cry some more, if she didn't hex us into oblivion first," Hermione answered and Fleur threw her knife down on the table. She got to her feet and began to pace, brandishing her fork wildly. "But we are running out of time!" she exclaimed.

Hermione quietly set her own silverware on the table and strode over to Fleur. "Shall we talk about what this frustration is really about?" she said to Fleur and the blonde's shoulders sagged. If she'd had a tail it would be tucked sadly between her legs. "I do not know 'ow I will survive two weeks wizout you," the French witch confessed. Hermione placed a finger under Fleur's chin and lifted her head so that she could look directly into those piercing blue eyes. "My parents will agree for me to spend New Years at the Weasley's. You can join us there. I'm sure that since you are Bill's friend, Molly will welcome you." Fleur sighed and gave Hermione a petulant look, clearly still not happy with the offered compromise. Hermione smiled and placed a gentle kiss on the Veela's soft cheek. "We will be fine - it's only one week, and I know that Gabrielle must miss you terribly," she tried to reassure her lover. Hermione knew that she was expected home for Christmas since her parents missed her and treasured the time she spent at home over the holidays, but even she had to admit that one week seemed like an eternity apart.

Fleur put her arms around Hermione's neck. "Zen you will just 'ave to comfort me on zis last night we 'ave together,"she told Hermione, nuzzling along her delicate jawline. The young witch grinned and kissed her soundly. She was really enjoying the kiss when suddenly Fleur pulled back and yelled, "ze wounded deer!" Hermione was stunned, indignant and more than a little confused. She even cast her eyes around the room on the off chance that there might have been an actual wounded deer that had somehow wandered into a heavily magically fortified castle and she had not noticed. When she found no such thing, she turned to Fleur. "Sorry?" she asked, totally unable to determine an explanation for Fleur's outburst or the fact that she had so rudely broken off their rather lovely kiss.

Fleur blushed at the question and looked as if she regretted her exclamation. "Eet is a... technique, zat I 'ad 'eard some of ze older girls at school discuss when going out dancing," Fleur explained. Hermione could only manage a look of vague puzzlement. The French witch stepped away from Hermione and sat on the couch. She could not believe that she was going to have to spell this out to her young lover, though she was endeared by the innocence that Hermione was displaying. "Cho is like ze wounded deer," she stated hoping rather pointlessly that that this would be enough to clear the situation up. She was sadly disappointed, given the increasingly lost expression that Hermione wore, so she continued on. "She is in need of comfort. When someone is so distraught, emotions can become, well, confused." Hermione screwed up her face in disgust. Did people really use such methods? "It sounds an awful lot like manipulation and taking advantage of her. I don't want her to come out of this feeling like she has not consented to...to..." Hermione faltered for a moment but Fleur jumped in quickly, trying to lighten the mood, "to 'aving a comforting shag?" Hermione screwed her face up even more at Fleur's statement and sulkily swept over to the bookcase, arms folded tightly across her chest.

Fleur sighed before getting up and moving over to stand behind her lover, gently massaging her shoulders with strong fingers which kneaded her muscles in all the right places. "It is immoral! We are using her!" Hermione said, but not nearly as full of conviction as she had been a few seconds ago. Fleur placed a chaste kiss on the back of her naive young lovers head before using her shoulders to twist her around. "Non! Do not forget what ze mission is 'ere 'Ermione. She iz a 'Orcrux and needs our 'elp! So 'ow do you zink You-Know-'oo will treat 'er when 'e gets to 'er? Do you zink he will offer her a biscuit? We will not 'urt 'er I promise, and if eet iz too much for 'er we can obliviate 'er," Fleur told the young witch, almost scoldingly. Hermione was still battling with the morality of it, but in the end she concluded that Fleur was right. Cho could be in real trouble with the Dark Lord if they didn't help her. She took the thought a step further, realising that she herself would be in real trouble if they didn't deal with the dark piece of soul hidden inside her own body soon. She began to wonder if Cho was so depressed and unable to get over Cedric's death because of the darkness within her. Perhaps if they destroyed it, the pretty witch would be able to move on.

Hermione was startled out of her thoughts by the feel of Fleur's soft lips gently caressing her neck. She shuddered in delight and Fleur giggled. "So many deep zoughts, I was jealous zat I did not 'ave your attention," Fleur declared, somewhat naughtily. Hermione snorted at Fleur, but leaned in and kissed her all the same. This time it was her turn to pull away. She flashed a mischievous smile at Fleur as she headed to the door. "Where are you going, ma petite loutre?" Fleur asked curiously. Hermione reached the door and opened it before turning back to answer. "I think that the Hogwarts Express needs a little supervision tomorrow, don't you?" and with that she walked out of the room leaving Fleur to ponder what she meant.

Hermione had made the dangerous decision to enlist the help of the Weasley twins the next day to create a distraction on the train that was carrying everyone home for the holidays. Fred and George were astonished that Hermione was actually encouraging them to break the rules for once, but with a quick sideways glance at each other which spokes volumes of glee, did not question her motives lest she withdraw the request and snark on them to McGonagall. It was with pure joy that they entered the main carriage and set off some of Filibusters finest fireworks, with a special Weasley twist. Like a surge of electricity, the trainload of schoolchildren pushed their way into the long carriage to watch the display, mouths open in astonishment and excitement. Just as Fred and George created a roaring, red and gold Gryffindor lion out of the fireworks, Fleur and Hermione slipped out and headed towards the back of the train where Hermione had seen Cho earlier in the journey. They approached the end carriage and noted that Cho was indeed in there by herself, sobbing quietly.

Unexpectedly, Fleur grabbed Hermione, turned to face her and began kissing her roughly as she fumbled to open the door and push Hermione into the carriage, without breaking contact with her lips as she did so. Fleur pushed Hermione back onto the bench as the door slammed shut, pretending to not notice that Cho was there. With a flick of her wand, the blinds in the compartment shut themselves with some force. She cast a quick locking and silencing spell on the compartment door, tossed her wand to the side and straddled a still stunned Hermione as she silently released her thrall into the carriage. No harm offering a little encouragement. If the feeling was there, it would intensify.

Cho flushed, speechless, as she watched Fleur grind against Hermione. The French witch pinned her to the bench, kissing her and fumbling with the buttons on Hermione's blouse. When she noticed where Fleur's hands were, Cho gasped. Fleur pulled out of the kiss, panting a little as she turned. Hermione quickly pushed Fleur off and tried to casually fix her blouse as she swapped benches, sitting down beside Cho. "I'm terribly sorry Cho, we thought this compartment was empty," she lied to the Ravenclaw nervously. Cho tore her gaze away from Fleur and gave her attention to Hermione. "It's ok," she replied, blushing more at Hermione's pink cheeks and heaving bosom. Hermione gently slung an arm around the older girl and rubbed her shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked her friend as she continued to gently caress her shoulder and tried to ignore the burning in her loins. Cho nodded. "Just thinking of Cedric. Sometimes I wish I could forget, you know. Find what you seem to have found in -in Fleur." Hermione smiled gently. Fleur tried not to roll her eyes. This was almost too easy. Hermione reached over and lifted Cho's chin so that they were looking directly into each other's eyes. "You are a strong, intelligent and beautiful young woman. You will be happy again," she told the upset witch in a soft and tender tone. Fleur nudged Cho with a small touch of her thrall and it was the push that the girl needed as she bridged the distance between herself and Hermione and closed her eyes as they kissed softly, almost chastely.

Fleur was grinning as she watched the dark haired witch kiss her lover; she had to admit that the plan had worked perfectly. Cho pulled back and gasped, opening her eyes to see Fleur watching her. "I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, looking horrified. Hermione leaned forward and kissed Cho in response, light and affectionate, a brushing of pink lips. As she pulled away, Fleur swooped in and kissed Cho. This kiss was different, not soft at all but urgent and longing and Cho found that she needed to respond. When she did, Fleur smiled as she let her hand wander to the Ravenclaw's chest, seductively massaging a breast in one hand as she now straddled the dark haired witch and continued the kiss.

Hermione unintentionally let out a low guttural growl of jealousy and arousal, but Fleur responded by breaking off her kiss with Cho and pulling Hermione's lips to her own while she continued to paw at Cho's breast. Hermione plunged her tongue into Fleur's mouth as she twisted on to her knees on the bench to get a better angle. In a moment of bravery, Cho leaned slightly forward and began to nibble on Hermione's ear as Fleur kissed the younger witch. Fleur slipped her hand simultaneously under Cho and Hermione's shirt, inside their bras and squeezed both of the womens breasts teasingly. At the sensation Cho bit down on Hermione's ear, Hermione pulled out of her kiss with Fleur and turned her full attention to Cho, which the Ravenclaw seemed to enjoy. Fleur crushed the spike of jealousy she felt coursing through her body and took a step back, letting Hermione have full access. She knew that Hermione was trying to complete the mission but she was struggling with being able to separate the personal and business side of things more and more.

As though Hermione could feel the uncertainty radiating off Fleur, she reached a hand out to her lover and slipped it into hers. Fleur smiled at the gesture and leaned forward to pepper the back of her neck with encouraging kisses. It was Hermione's turn to fumble with clothing as she found herself slipping her hand into the waist of Cho's skirt, gently pressing cotton panties into her sweet wet folds. Fleur pressed her body against Hermione's back, letting her know that she was there, reassuring her, as Cho slid forward on the bench giving Hermione easier access to her core. Cho was assaulting Hermione's lips and tongue with her own, with a fervour that she had not felt since before Cedric had died and Hermione was finding it hard to focus on the task at hand. Fleur released the full weight of her thrall into the compartment. Hermione stiffened, though Cho did not seem to notice what had happened as her hands roamed the front of the younger witch's body.

Hermione acted with a renewed desperation as she slipped her hand inside Cho's pants and used her finger to circle and tease her clit in much the same way Cho was attacking her left nipple. When Cho pulled from the kiss to unbutton Hermione's blouse and push her bra up so she could latch her lips around her nipple, Hermione in turn circled two fingers gently along her opening. Cho groaned against Hermione's nipple, which caused Hermione to shudder and thrust her fingers inside her counterpart. Cho threw her head back in wanton delight as Hermione began to resolutely pump in and out of her, enjoying each thrust more than the last. The Ravenclaw's head fell forward and her hot breath swept across Hermione's neck in deep fast pants that matched Hermione's thrusting fingers. Moans and whimpers began to resonate against Hermione's skin from both Cho and Fleur as she ensured that every time she pushed her fingers home, her palm slammed against Cho's sensitive nub. The body beneath her began to shudder and Hermione gave Fleur's hand a subtle squeeze. Cho started to protest as Hermione slowed her hand, then she realised that each slow thrust was harder than before and she was so close to losing control of herself that she could only whimper, begging and pleading for more.

A jealous growl fell from Fleur's lips and Hermione squeezed her hand harder this time, reminding her why she was here. Fleur released Hermione's hand to reach over and grab her wand. She wordlessly cast 'legilimens' and as subtly as she could, sifted through Cho's mind until she came up against the darkness that Hermione had described. Isolating the darkness, she used her wand to scratch a small cut on her hand, then reached over and cradled Cho's head as Hermione brought her to a noisy, sweaty climax. Cho's head fell back against Fleur's hand and she sighed and shuddered as she waited to regain control of her body. With her sigh, out came the darkness as it vacated the vessel. Fleur was quick off the mark remembering what Hermione had said about what had happened with Tonks and cast the blood magic which destroyed the darkness immediately.

Hermione shuddered and had Fleur not been directly behind her, would have fallen to the floor. Fleur removed her hand from Cho's head and cast a quick 'scourgify' and 'episkey' then pulled Hermione into her arms, coincidentally pulling her girlfriend's hand out of Cho's underwear. Fleur examined Hermione and saw that she was deathly pale but managed to offer a wan smile. "Eet would seem zat you 'ave worn out my girlfriend, Cho," Fleur said and though she was smiling too, there was a bit of a bite in the comment. Cho, who had already recovered from the activity, stood and straightened up awkwardly. "Well, she definitely helped me forget," Cho replied with a timid grin. Fleur thought it might have been the first time she had seen a genuine smile on the other girl's face and nodded her acknowledgement before stating very clearly, "Zis was a one time deal - you understand zis, yes?" Cho bit her lip nervously, feeling like she had done something wrong. Hermione pulled herself to her feet and stood before Cho, placing a gentle hand on the pretty witch's face. "What Fleur means to say is that we were just showing you that you have options out there, but I am afraid that we are very much in love and are not looking for anything more," Hermione's softer tone and explanation seemed to make sense to Cho who smiled in response and made her way to the door. "Thank you, both of you," she said to the compartment, not making eye contact with either of them.

Fleur nodded once more then with a flick of her wand unlocked the door to let the Ravenclaw out. After she exited, Fleur flicked her wand and the door locked again. The two lovers sat on opposite benches, studying each other intently. "Are you alright?" Fleur asked Hermione who seemed to have regained some of her colour. Hermione saw jealousy in her lover's eyes. She nodded and then asked "but are you?" Fleur considered the question but found she could only shake her head. She had thought she could control her jealousy but to tame the beast within was a damn near impossible task. Hermione recognised the inner struggle taking place within her lover and stood, moving across the compartment. She took Fleur's hand and placed it on her own chest, "This heart is yours, it beats for you, it aches at your pain and soars at your happiness," she told her lover.

Fleur got to her feet and grabbed the back of Hermione's head pulling her lover towards her. The kiss was hard enough to bruise lips but Hermione did not resist as Fleur's tongue thrust into her mouth and staked its claim to every millimetre. Fleur pulled away. "Mine!" she growled, swiftly unbuttoning Hermione's shirt, discarding it before doing the same with her bra. The younger witch stood, not protesting at the way her lover was man-handling her, truth be told she was rather enjoying it, but she knew this display was more for the beast within than anything else. She stood naked and fought the urge to cover herself as Fleur's eyes inspected her body"Mine!" Fleur growled again as she stepped forward and trailed her hands across her lover. "Yes," Hermione gasped as fingers teased her most sensitive places, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back as Fleur began to kiss her ear, the earlobe that Cho had nibbled on. Hermione yelped as Fleur bit down hard on the ear then flicked her tongue across it as she whispered, "mine."

"Yes, yours." Hermione agreed as she revelled in the delightful sensations that Fleur was causing to dance across her body as she bit, nibbled and stroked it with familiarity. Fleur pushed Hermione back as she sank to her knees, pulling her legs over her shoulders and burying her face between them. Fleur pushed her tongue against her lover's clit rolling it deliciously under her tongue. Hermione threw her head back and whimpered as she reached out and tried to clutch at the seat fabric. She brought her hands against the back of Fleur's head and twisted her fingers into the tendrils of blonde hair, pulling her lovers head closer to her. Fleur dipped her tongue into Hermione's slit and drank in the sweet nectar that was in abundance then she reached up and pressed two fingers inside her lover as her tongue continued to reap its harvest. Whimper after whimper fell from Hermione's lips as Fleur's deft strokes to her clit combined with her slightly curved fingers moving in and out of her drove her to such a wild state of being that she was certain her heart was humming rather than beating. She clenched her hands in Fleur's hair as her inner walls clenched her lover's fingers and she came in an explosion of shudders and liquid that she had never yet experienced. Fleur lapped up every drop of the juice leaking from Hermione before gently pushing her legs from her shoulders and crawling back up her body so that their lips could meet.

After sharing a kiss Fleur went to pull away but Hermione held onto her, so Fleur leaned down to kiss her shoulder and surprised Hermione by giving her a deep purple love bite instead. Fleur looked into Hermione's eyes and in a soft calm voice claimed "mine." Hermione smiled back at her, overwhelmed with emotion and whispered back, "always."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N More smut :O ummm reader discretion is advised as this chapter is quite umm well it's absolute filth to be honest. But first some necessary back story (sorry for the amount of filler – I promise it was entirely necessary). **

**Also we made the mistake of googling words for lady bits – it was a good half hour of fun that we highly recommend.**

**I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all that everything you recognise is JK Rowling's (though the perversion is all me).**

Chapter 24 A Snake in the Ass

Hermione walked out of the stall in the bathroom carriage and approached the mirror as she adjusted her uniform, smoothing out a crease in her robes. Fleur, who had gone to send an owl to inform Professor McGonagall of their success with Cho Chang, had left a rather pretty bruise on her neck with her teeth. Hermione couldn't help grinning as she examined the mark, tracing the outline delicately. No doubt who she belonged to now. Fully intending to scold Fleur for marking her so clearly, she turned to exit the carriage and walked straight into a warm solid wall that turned out to be none other than Pansy Parkinson.

"Watch it, Gryffindork!" Pansy exclaimed. Hermione tried to pull away in horror but Pansy grabbed the lapel of her shirt and yanked it open. A slow, malicious grin spread across the Slytherin's face as she taunted, "Well, well, well, Granger, what do have we here?" She poked the bitemark that Hermione had just been trying to cover up. Hermione blushed and yanked her lapel back in embarrassment. "Excuse me!" she yelped, not enjoying being manhandled by the Slytherin. Pansy snorted. "I'm sorry, Granger. I should never have called you Gryffindork," Pansy apologised then gave Hermione a slow look that travelled up and down the length of her body with a predatory sort of appreciation before finishing with, "it seems you are much better suited to being a Griffinwhore." The last insult was drawn out by Pansy's sneering drawl. Pansy grinned, blew Hermione a sardonic kiss and walked towards the door. Desperately clawing for a clever comeback, Hermione yelled the first thing that popped into her mind. "Jealous, Parkinson?" As soon as the words left her lips, Hermione knew this was a mistake. Pansy was much better at this game than Hermione would ever be. She had been born with these traits after all.

Pansy spun slowly to face Hermione, a most wicked grin plastered across her face. "Oh absolutely, Granger," she replied as she stepped into Hermione's personal space. When there was just inches between them, she leaned forwards and whispered seductively into Hermione's ear. "Let me know when you are tired of Gryffindorks and have discovered that it's, shall we say, not-so-Ravenclawesome with the brainy ones. I will be here ready to let you sample a Slytherin. We have a bit more... mettle about us." As Pansy pulled away she unexpectedly kissed Hermione's cheek gently. Hermione pulled back, utterly aghast, as Pansy walked back towards the door. She could feel that her face was bright red and she couldn't tell if it was with embarrassment or rage or something else. "Slytherin my ass!" she spat at Pansy. Quick as a flash, and without breaking her stride, Pansy smoothly retorted, "Sounds like an invitation to me," and then exited the bathroom, leaving Hermione gaping speechless at the door.

Gathering her wits about her, Hermione pulled out her wand and ran out the door after the Slytherin with every intention of jinxing her, when another thought occurred to her - why not just find something as equally embarrassing about Pansy and use it against her? The anger blinded her to the morality of this action, and with a flourish of her wand she wordlessly cast 'legilimens' and entered Pansy's mind. As soon as she had cast the spell she felt the familiar darkness which indicated a Whorecrux. Completely stunned, she stopped instantly and pulled out, watching as the Slytherin stalked off no doubt to tell her friends all about the hickey she had seen on the school know-it-all. Hermione needed to find Fleur and tell her this new information but they were out of time. The train was already pulling into Kings Cross station. Hermione dashed to the compartment where she had stowed her stuff and then hauled herself off the train and steeled herself for seeing Fleur in a week.

Two weeks later however Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room pretending to read. They had been back an hour or so and Harry was brooding in front of the fireplace, looking tortured as always, whispering with Ron about something or other. Their well laid plans had gone awry over Christmas and Hermione's parents had actually arranged with Dumbledore for her to spend the entire holiday at Grimmauld place. Neither Bill nor Charlie had gone home for Christmas and so there was really no excuse for Fleur to visit. Hermione had been in a foul mood for the entire fortnight and didn't want to tell anyone why, though the others put it down to general uneasiness with Mr Weasley's attack, Dolores Umbridge at school and Harry's ongoing issues with Dumbledore.

Her mood blackened further when they had returned to school to discover that Fleur had been denied access into the school by Professor Umbridge. Hermione could not even write to Fleur to tell her of her discovery some weeks earlier as owls were being stopped, mail being censored and even Professor McGonagall was finding it hard to discuss matters privately. Life at school became harder for them as Dumbledore was forced to go on the run and Umbridge's dictatorship worsened until even the Weasley twins, normally cheerfully unaffected by any kind of authority, felt they would be forced to take action. Harry continued on talking about the dreams he was having, whining about how useless he felt and how he wanted to take action. Hermione poured all her time and effort into trying to get Harry to be reasonable and see sense, to try to get him discipline his mind to block You-Know-Who from it but she felt her efforts had been fruitless.

So it was with a heavy heart that Hermione turned all her focus on her studies, working on getting through her O.W.L.s so that she could see Fleur once again. At night she dreamt of being wrapped in the French witch's arms, of her gentle caresses and tender kisses, and dreamt of her passionate claiming of Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. Things with Umbridge finally came to a head during exam time. Unfortunately around the same time Harry had also lost what minute ability he'd had left to see reason and took off to the Ministry of Magic in an attempt to rescue Sirius after a threat to his life had been presented to Harry in a dream. The boy-who-lived-to-be-a-fool was hell bent on going on a rescue mission and despite all the logic she presented to him, he could not (or would not) not listen to her and headed off on his foolhardy plan. Hermione felt she had no choice but to follow him into what was clearly a trap, fortunately some of the key player's from the DA felt the need to follow him as well.

Without Neville, Luna and Ginny with them, they no doubt would have died, or worse - _expelled_. As it was, the six of them entered into a fierce battle with the death eaters. It was during this fight that Hermione discovered the path of her fate was to lead to Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione had searched the minds of the death eaters during the battle and determined, much to her horror, that the mad woman was in fact a Whorecrux. She stored that titbit of information in the back of her mind, jamming it as far back as it would go. She would deal with the terror of it later. In the meantime, she needed to focus on getting everyone out of there. Luckily for the students, members of the Order of the Phoenix came to the rescue, saving them all but costing them Sirius's life in return.

Hermione stood in the Ministry of Magic and stared at Harry writhing in pain on the floor and suddenly felt that she could no longer bear the weight upon her shoulders. The Order was asking too much of them. While she knew that they were more than children now that still did not make them equipped to handle half of the nonsense that was being thrown at them. The moment Harry clambered shakily to his feet and left with Dumbledore, Hermione collapsed to her knees only to be caught in the arms of one of the Aurors. She looked up at the face of the person who had caught her and met a pair of stunning blue eyes staring back at her, radiating concern and adoration in equal measures. Hermione had enough energy to force a smile at her beautiful saviour before she promptly passed out in Fleur's arms.

Back at Hogwarts, in the quarters that Fleur had been assigned (which were becoming remarkably like a joint living area for the two witches) Hermione was curled up on the couch and began to finally rouse. Fleur shot to her feet and rushed to Hermione's side, her face taut with worry as she knelt by her lover and used a damp cloth to wipe her forehead. Hermione smiled as the Veela came into focus and started to cry. "Shhhh ma petite loutre, you are safe now," the older witch comforted the younger, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her gently into a sitting position so that she could lean against Fleur comfortably. Hermione took time to calm down and then pulled away from Fleur, who examined the witch's face, scowling at cuts and bruises that were now presenting themselves, and set about healing them. "Per'aps I should 'ave taken you to ze 'ospital wing... but I selfishly wanted to care for you myself," Fleur mumured. Hermione nodded and relaxed against her lover for a moment, feeling relief at the healing but unable to formulate words just yet.

Hermione finally took a deep breath. "I think I had a panic attack," she explained to Fleur. "It all just felt like too much there for a moment and I guess my body overreacted." Fleur was nodding in understanding. She wrapped one arm around the vulnerable young girl and with the other arm reached over and slipped her hand into Hermione's. "Remember, I will 'old your 'and. You are not facing zis alone, I promised you zat," Fleur reassured. Hermione nodded and grasped the hand in her own tightly, lacing her fingers between Fleur's, "I missed you so much Fleur, I ached without you and felt as though I was falling into a pit of despair." Hermione explained, feeling more than a little pathetic at the admission. Fleur audibly gulped and looked into Hermione's eyes. "Et is because of ze bonding you feel zis way," she explained very much aware that she too had fallen into a well of depression which she had been unable to hide from her Maman.

"Come, darling, let us go to bed now. In ze morning we can discuss zis and everyzing else," Fleur told Hermione as she helped the younger witch to her feet and led her into the bedroom. The two witches stripped naked and slipped between the sheets. There was a need to touch skin to skin, like a field of electricity between them that had to be eliminated as Fleur pulled Hermione into her arms and leaned down to kiss her gently. Compared to the last time they had been intimate, Fleur's touches were light as a feather as she slowly dragged her fingertips across Hermione's stomach to try and pull her closer still. Hermione slipped her leg between Fleur's and pressed her knee against her lover's mons as she flipped on top of her and began to shower the blonde in soft tender kisses. Hermione ground herself gently against Fleur; grinning at the wetness she felt tenderly kissing her knee from Fleur's arousal as she created a trail of kisses down her lovers jaw line and onto her neck. Hermione took her time, knowing that Fleur's neck was particularly sensitive and was rewarded with a string of growls and moans of appreciation as she nipped and nibbled her way across her lover's throat and down her chest.

As her desperation took control, Fleur reached around and grabbed a handful of Hermione's buttocks as she pulled her lover closer to her in the hopes that it would encourage her to grind her knee a little faster and harder. Hermione grinned at the unspoken encouragement and gave into her lover focusing on quickening the pace with her knee as she leant down and captured an erect nipple in her mouth. She rolled and teased the nipple in her mouth, delighted at its response to her as she let it fall from her mouth and flicked her tongue over it before moving to the other and treating it to the same. This time when she released the nipple she softly blew across it as Fleur now took control of the situation and ground herself against Hermione's leg, digging her nails into the buttocks squeezed firmly in her hands. Hermione smiled and pulled up to place a kiss on her lovers neck before kissing her way down the valley between Fleur's breast and dipping her tongue into her belly button.

Hermione managed to wriggle from Fleur's grip, smiling at the weak protest from Fleur and slid down the bed, gently kissing her lovers navel as she did so. Hermione looked up at her lover's face and saw that Fleur was watching her with anticipation, willing her to go further, her eyes dark with desire. Hermione licked her lips and dipped her head down as she spread Fleur's lower lips with a hand and softly blew across her clit. It was all Fleur could do not to become undone there and then as her lover drove her to distraction with her hot breath so close to her most sensitive place. Hermione leaned forward and flicked her tongue over her lover's swollen nub before capturing it in her mouth and teasing it gently. "Oh Hermione, yes, please, YES!" Fleur moaned and grabbed Hermione's head as her lover delicately teased her, more as something to hold onto than anything else, while Hermione swirled her tongue in circles before moving down and pressing her tongue inside of her, continuing to tease her clit with her finger. That was enough to push Fleur over the edge and with a yell of "Hermione!" her release came with a shudder.

Hermione smiled as she crawled back up her lover's body. Fleur was still shuddering with delight and panting when Hermione leaned over and kissed her. Fleur could taste herself on Hermione's lips and found that she rather enjoyed tasting herself from her lover's mouth. Hermione smiled as the French witch fought to maintain the kiss. Thrusting her tongue into Hermione's mouth, Fleur reached down between her lover's legs and slipped two fingers between her folds. Hermione sighed as she felt the fingers teasingly dipping towards her slit to coat themselves in her wetness before sliding over her clit. Fleur teased, pressed and stroked Hermione as the younger witch moaned her name breathily and dropped her head to Fleur's neck. Hermione's hot breath on her neck was all the encouragement she needed as she thrust her fingers into Hermione's core and held them there, letting her lover adjust. A moment later Hermione built up a rhythm, working herself on Fleur's fingers as she cried out, "Oh Merlin, Fleur!" Taking the calling out of her name as more encouragement, Fleur curved and twisted her fingers as Hermione thrust herself upon them and allowed her thumb to begin to stroke her lover's clit as she did so. Hermione was brought to a screaming orgasm by the very motion and collapsed panting onto Fleur, her lover's fingers still inside her. "Do not move," she ordered her lover breathily and Fleur teasingly moved her fingers ever so slightly causing Hermione to cry out one more time before the blonde giggled and held still as instructed. Hermione very delicately lifted herself off of Fleur and curled up beside her, resting her head on her lover's chest and the two witches drifted off to sleep content to be in each other's arms again.

Hermione left for the summer holidays on the following afternoon but Fleur had already arranged with her parents for them all to visit France for a holiday, so that Hermione could further her transfiguration studies with Fleur. To Hermione's delight, Fleur actually did help her do extra credit work - at least, when the pair could actually keep their hands to themselves - which stood her in good stead to be able to turn her focus on other areas throughout the coming academic year. A week before the start of school, Hermione and her parents returned home and Hermione visited the Burrow to spend time with Harry, Ron and Ginny before the start of school.

The separation was as unbearable for Fleur as it was for Hermione. The two witches wrote to each other 2 or sometimes even 3 times per day. Harry was rather indifferent about the fact that Hermione was with them but her focus was not thrown. Even half of Hermione's focus meant that she was still able to outsmart the rest of them. Ron was predictably jealous of the fact that Hermione was writing to someone instead of devoting her time to her friends. He had assumed she was corresponding with Viktor Krum, and Hermione let him believe it because it was easier than lying to cover everything else up. Ginny on the other hand was positively gleeful at the progress Hermione was making with Fleur, both on mission and off. Hermione found herself giggling about things her old self would have scorned, as she poured her heart out to the youngest Weasley who did nothing but support and encourage her friend in the pursuit of a relationship with Fleur. Hermione even shared with Ginny information about the bonding that had begun between herself and Fleur and though Ginny did utter a few words of caution about protecting her heart and not taking on too much responsibility, she was for the most part utterly delighted for her friend.

During her correspondence with Fleur, Hermione had revealed that she had discovered that Pansy was a Whorecrux. She had however chosen to keep the information about Bellatrix Lestrange to herself for the time being. By owl, using selected codewords, the two witches had discussed how they might handle Pansy and had determined that the best course of action would be to tease Pansy a little and then let her come to them. It was a matter of setting up the thrill of the chase, which would undoubtedly attract the Slytherin. Hermione voiced her concerns that Pansy would be singing from the bell tower that Hermione was in fact a 'Gryffinwhore' (though she admitted that taken at face value this new nickname was not entirely untrue). Fleur's response to Hermione's letter had simply been "I will hold your hand." Though from a logical point of view Hermione saw Fleur's response as not really addressing the issue, it offered her a great deal of comfort and she found she didn't really care what the rest of Hogwarts thought about her at all so long as Fleur always held her hand.

At the start of term feast, Hermione positioned herself at the Gryffindor table so that she could keep an eye on Pansy. It did not take long for the Slytherin to notice the brunette watching her closely. Pansy smirked in her direction while her housemates busied themselves with dinner. In turn Hermione glanced at Fleur, confirming that the plan was in action. Once the teaching assistant was certain that Pansy was watching, she winked at Hermione and got up from her seat. Less than a minute later, Hermione winked at Pansy too and then followed Fleur out of the great hall. Madam Hooch, who had watched the whole thing with a look of pure unadulterated glee on her face, nudged Professor McGonagall in the ribs sharply and whispered, "uh oh Minnie, looks like Pansy Parkinson is about to be Cho Chang'd," with a giggle. Minerva McGonagall almost choked on her pumpkin juice, spluttering slightly before hissing, "Really Rolanda, I hardly think that is appropriate talk for the dinner table!" Hooch grinned widely. She loved winding Minerva up, mostly because she knew she would pay for it later, but mostly because... well. It was just fun. With a smirk, Hooch set her own goblet on the table and turned to Minerva. "Honestly Minnie, all the kids are saying it these days, and besides if you are going to encourage her to be on the teaching staff, I'm going to encourage her to be on the student's bodies." Snape and Dumbledore, who had both overheard the conversation, snorted quietly into their sleeves. "Don't you mean student body?" Minerva responded with a puzzled frown. Rolanda raised an eyebrow in amusement and with a wicked grin replied "Nope!" Dumbledore had turned so red from suppressed laughter that Snape began patting his back, pretending he was choking lest someone else caught on. Along the table, Professor Flitwick was giving them a very odd look. Professor McGonagall stood abruptly and turned to storm off but stopped in front of Professor Dumbledore. "Really Albus, I would have thought you of all people would be able to take this situation a little bit more seriously!" With that she stormed off fuming. Dumbledore shot Hooch a mock disapproving look as Snape raised his goblet in salute.

Minerva smiled to herself as she quickly changed into her cat Animagus and wandered round to the entrance to the great hall. She secretly giggled at most of Rolanda's jokes but could never let her lover think she got away with it. It made their evenings much more fun when Rolanda thought she was in trouble. Minerva stood just outside the great hall and watched as Pansy Parkinson wandered down the corridor looking for wherever Hermione had disappeared to. McGonagall followed her, slinking along in the shadows like a ninja. It did not take long for Pansy to find Hermione, as she was certainly making enough noise to allude to her location. Pansy grinned at the sight that greeted her. Fleur had Hermione pinned to a wall and was running her hands all over her body while she devoured her lips with her own. Minerva meowed in understanding, rolling her green cat's eyes in a gesture that to any observer would have seemed almost unbearably cute, and trotted back around the corner where she would not be seen to change back to her witch form. She cast several disillusionment charms on the corridor to prevent any wayward students interrupting Hermione and Fleur at work. She might as well help with what she could - perhaps it would ease her feel of ineffectiveness and guilt.

"Well, well, well Granger, you really are a Gryffinwhore aren't you?" Pansy had sauntered up right beside the two witches. Fleur turned to her and grinned beguiling. "You 'ave seen nozing yet!" she told Pansy as she grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her away. Hermione flashed a devious smile at Pansy before following her lover to the seventh floor corridor. Pansy took that as an invitation and followed the two, admiring the view as she strode behind them. As she rounded the corner, Fleur pounced on her and pinned her to a wall, pressing against her body as she kissed her, reaching down and grabbing Pansy's thigh, encouraging her to wrap her leg around her as she ground against the Slytherin. In the meantime, Hermione had been pacing in the corridor, focusing on their need and waiting for the room of requirements to appear. Finally the doorway appeared and Hermione turned to Pansy and Fleur kissing. Jealousy thrust through her guts like a stinging jinx, almost bringing tears to her eyes. Pansy had seen the look and smiled as she leaned in and kissed Fleur's neck before pushing her off and stalking towards Hermione. "Jealous, Granger?" she said quietly, her grin slipping for a moment, referencing their earlier conversation. Hermione looked at her with huge brown eyes that had darkened in arousal already. Pansy seemed to catch herself and in a flash was ogling Hermione again with unmistakable lust and the usual hostility. "Don't worry, I remember your invitation - in the ass, right?" Pansy sneered, back to her old scathing self, slapping Hermione's bum as she walked past. She opened the door to the room of requirement pulling the Gryffindor with her. Fleur followed close behind, gulping a few calming breaths.

Pansy admired the room as she walked in a circle around Hermione. "What did you ask for, Gryffinwhore? A sodding love nest? A nice romantic evening in Paris?" Hermione blushed at the teasing and suddenly felt that there was no way she could go through with this. She just couldn't trust Pansy. As the thought entered her mind, she felt Fleur slipping a soft hand into her own and pulling her towards the French witch. She kissed Hermione tenderly and as she did so released some of her thrall into her room. This, it turned out, was been a mistake, because although it had the desired affect on Hermione, i.e. calming her down, opening her up to the idea and making her feel much less nervous, it also apparently amplified Pansy's desire to stratospheric levels. The Slytherin had moved behind the blonde, pulling their clothes off none too gently.

Fleur spun around and growled a warning to Pansy, who leaned forward and kissed Fleur roughly, biting Fleur's lip as she pulled away. "Message received loud and clear, Delacour, but we _are_going to do this," Pansy told Fleur. She pushed the blonde out of the way and placed a hand on the side of Hermione's face, pushing her back against a wall hard as she kissed her. Hermione returned the kiss but her eyes were wide and still slightly panicked as they searched for Fleur. Pansy's hand reached behind and pulled her skirt up. The hand slipped into Hermione's pants and roughly grabbed a handful of buttock. Fleur growled again and grabbed Pansy, spinning her around and kissing her, pushing her back against Hermione who was taking advantage of the time to recover herself. Fleur then pulled Pansy over to the bed, hard enough to make the Slytherin almost stagger. She was done playing and hoped that the other two got the hint.

Pansy smirked and ripped Fleur's shirt open, buttons raining onto the floor as she did so. Hermione pulled her wand out and cast 'divesto'. Suddenly the three were entirely naked. Pansy wore hunger plain and simple on her face as she looked over Fleur's shoulder and examined Hermione's body. Fleur stepped aside to give Pansy a full view and fought to remain objective. She did not like this girl, did not like the glint in her eye and it was clear that she was interested in driving Hermione wild, perhaps had always harboured a secret desire to do so. Fleur was patently not okay with this for a number of reasons. Pansy grinned at Hermione as she reached out and roughly tweaked one of her nipples. "So Gryffinwhore, are you ready for the ride of your life?" Pansy asked teasingly as lust shone from her eyes, trapping Hermione like a deer in headlights. The Slytherin unexpectedly reached over and pulled Fleur towards her, kissing her lip where she had bitten her previously as she ran her hand down the blonde's body and between her legs. Delighted to find Fleur wet, she was able to slip her fingers inside without any preamble, thrusting into her enthusiastically. Fleur pulled out of the kiss and met Hermione's eyes. Her young lover looked back at her with love, lust and jealousy but reached out and stroked Pansy's face anyway with her hand as she turned her to face her.

Fleur had no idea how the Slytherin managed it but she maintained her rhythmic thrusts into her as she kissed Hermione and pulled her body towards the two of them. Pansy quickened her pace with Fleur, slipping a third finger into her, stretching her painfully but soon the pain turned to delight as her walls clenched and twitched with each thrust. Hermione pulled out of the kiss with Pansy and leaned over to kiss Fleur. Their eyes met and the fire in Fleur's heart lit as she came undone between her legs. She threw her head back, shuddering, and sighed before locking her gaze back on Hermione, eyes filled with desire. Before she could act on her desire though, Pansy was there licking her fingers clean. "Want a taste, Granger?" she drawled as she offered a finger to Hermione. Hermione pushed the hand out of the way and instead took Fleur's hand and pulled her over to the bed. If she was going to taste her lover then it was not going to be from Pansy's fingers. She pushed Fleur onto the bed and leant over her as she softly kissed her way up Fleur's inner thighs before thrusting her tongue deep inside her.

Pansy grinned with appreciation at the amazing view. Fleur was moaning, her head thrown back as Hermione was bent over her licking and sucking her with her beautiful pert arse in the air. Pansy licked her lips as she stepped behind Hermione and with one hand pushed her head hard down into Fleur's sweetness, while with the other hand she slipped two fingers into Hermione's minge. Hermione gasped with surprise but did not stop her ministrations with Fleur, pushing her tongue inside her then withdrawing it and lazily licking over her hard clit. Fleur was losing herself the more Hermione worked, and she couldn't help reaching out, grabbing handfuls of bedding as she fought to hold on. Pansy was enjoying watching Fleur writhe in pleasure as she pumped her fingers in and out of Hermione. She leaned over, nipping and nibbling at Hermione's back as she did so. Hermione moaned at the bites, and the more Pansy realised the brunette enjoyed them the harder she bit.

"Oh Merde, 'Ermione." Fleur cried out, unable to silence her pleasure any longer as a stream of moans and groans escaped her lips. Hermione smiled and redoubled her efforts. Pansy brought her second hand down to Hermione's slit as she moved her bites and nips down to Hermione buttocks. She pulled her fingers out of Hermione and smiled at the moan of disappointment that she got before leaning over and flicking her tongue over the Gryffindor's puckered arsehole, then pushed her tongue through the threshold before pulling up and sliding a wet finger in where her tongue had been a moment before. "Merlin," Hermione moaned and Fleur mumbled something as that moan reverberated against her. Pansy grinned as she reached down with her free hand and teased Hermione's entrance then tickled her love button. Pansy was delighted to note that Hermione relaxed some and loosened as she worked her finger in and out. Hermione began to cry out as Pansy quickened her thrusts into her ass, the sounds and moans pushed Fleur over the edge and she reached her second climax of the evening. The scent and taste of Fleur's climax, combined with Pansy's thrusts and teasing brought Hermione to an orgasm that rippled throughout her body causing her to collapse in the bed.

Fleur extracted herself from beneath Hermione and reached over, taking Pansy's hands in her own and began to seductively lick her lover's juices from Pansy's fingers. Hermione rolled out of the way, very clear on what Fleur was doing and curled on her side as though to watch the two, her wand concealed under her. Fleur pushed Pansy down on the bed and taking her cue from the Slytherin's behaviour earlier that night, immediately thrust inside her - no foreplay, no preparation. Her hunch was right and Pansy squealed with delight wrapping her arms around Fleur, digging her nails into the blondes back. Fleur was relentless, far rougher than she would ever be with Hermione, even adding a third finger which Pansy gladly accommodated. Fleur leaned down and bit Pansy's breast and in return Pansy dragged her nails across Fleur's back drawing thin lines of blood. Hermione gasped at the sight but the Slytherin cried out "Merlin's wang! Yes, YES!" as she reached around again and dug more nails into Fleur's back, raking them across the tracks she had just made. Fleur pounded into her panty-hamster harder and harder until Pansy screamed as she lost complete control of herself.

Hermione pulled out her wand, cast the now familiar spell and entered Pansy's mind. She was able to quickly locate the darkness and prayed to Circe that the scratches on Fleur's back would provide enough blood for the blood magic. Fleur continued her thrusts and as Pansy shook with her orgasm, she threw her head back, eyes shut and panting. The darkness evacuated her and Hermione quickly cast the blood magic, destroying the dark magic as it made a beeline for Fleur.

Pansy unceremoniously and rather abruptly pushed Fleur off her, scoffed in Hermione's direction and she swung her legs over the bed to pull her knickers on. Pansy grabbed the rest of her clothes before slipping her shirt over her head and then gave Hermione a hard, searching look. "Don't think this will be a regular thing, Gayffindor. You and the Veela were a decent shag but that's where it ends." Hermione was gobsmacked and only able to nod her head before Pansy added, "I don't need it getting out that I'd stoop to shagging a _mudblood_ and a _half-breed_." Fleur was on her feet in an instant and had Pansy pressed against the wall, wand digging into the Slytherin's throat. Hermione got up, grabbing her t-shirt and pulling it on. She walked over to Fleur and gently pulled the blonde's hand down. Hermione settled a steely gaze on Pansy. "Get out!" she said in a soft tone with held much more threat than if she had shouted. Pansy suddenly was aware that two very advanced and powerful witches were threatening her. She pulled her skirt on as she headed out the door, looking rather sulky.

Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding and Fleur began to pace. "You should 'ave let me 'ex 'er!" Fleur said angrily. Hermione sighed and sat on the bed, yelped in alarm and swiftly got up again. Fleur turned to look at her, eyebrow raised questioningly. Hermione blushed and dropped her eyes to the floor. Fleur walked over to her and gently kissed her. "Ma petite loutre?" she asked again Hermione turned around and let Fleur see her back and arse covered in Pansy's bites.

Fleur let out a low guttural growl as she fought to control her temper, then raised her wand and healed Hermione. Hermione turned around and stood on her tip toes to kiss Fleur, who instantly calmed, smiled and melted into the kiss. Hermione stepped around the blonde and healed the scratches on her back. "Zank you," Fleur told her and they put on the rest of their clothes. Fleur asked the room for a door directly to her quarters, which the room conveniently provided for them.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN Thanks as always to the reviewers – I can honestly say that you make our day!**

Chapter 25 Pot Meet Kettle

Hermione sighed contentedly. She was laying on her side, naked as the day she was born, resting her head on an equally naked Fleur's shoulder. The blonde was sleeping peacefully but Hermione's mind was buzzing with thoughts. She longed for the nights when she and Fleur could lie curled up like this without the fate of the worlds, both wizarding and muggle, pressing down on them. She briefly wondered if Harry felt the same. She imagined he would explode at the pressure if he had to handle what she and Fleur were having to cope with, but still he did have a lot on his plate. She made a mental note to check in with him soon and see how he was coping, since he did not have the benefit of having someone like Fleur watching over him and holding his hand.

Hermione sighed again and stared in awe at Fleur. She truly was beautiful, Hermione reached up and gently caressed her lovers face, then trailed her fingers lightly down the Veela's chest and teasingly drew small circles around the smattering of freckles and moles that decorated Fleur's torso. Fleur smiled, no longer able to hide the fact that she was awake. She had simply been basking in the warmth that was the love that resonated off of Hermione's very skin, surrounding her in a cloud of happiness. The brunette smirked and hooked her leg around Fleur's hip. "I'm sorry love, did I wake you?" she purred at her lover though she was clearly delighted at the prospect that they were both awake and for the time being had nowhere else to be.

Fleur's fingers danced lightly over the thigh that covered her groin and she turned those delightful blue eyes on Hermione. The younger of the two witches felt as though her heart was melting and flooding out between her legs as she continued to run her fingers over the freckles. Hermione loved them, each and every one. As soon as she noticed what Hermione was doing, Fleur rolled her eyes and swatted at her hand, trying to convince the young witch to stop. Fleur scowled at her, "Please ma petite loutre, zey are just unsightly blemishes." Hermione thought they were cute, that they had been put there by a beautiful miracle of genetics simply for her to fixate on. They were a part of the woman she loved and she loved them just as much as she loved Fleur. It hurt Hermione to think that there was a part of Fleur that the blonde did not love and appreciate in the same way. Hermione knew that Fleur would never be this vulnerable in front of anyone else - she took too much pride in the confident and strong image that she constantly projected. Hermione wondered what had happened that would cause Fleur to be selfconscious about the freckles and moles. Clearly the Veela knew she was beautiful, she did have working eyes after all.

This simply would not do. Hermione grinned and pushed herself up so that she was straddling Fleur. She reached out and grabbed Fleur's hands, one in each of her own and interlaced their fingers before playfully pinning them to the bed. Fleur watched her closely, her eyes filled with lust, her own grin spreading to her eyes crinkling them in delight, showing her sheer joy at Hermione's unusually bold and forward movement. She certainly was not complaining about their love life but she had specifically kept things very tender and gentle out of fear that she would scare Hermione away. Hermione leaned forward as though to kiss Fleur, their breasts pressed together intimately, but at the last moment Hermione swung left, avoiding Fleur's lips and instead tenderly kissing a mole that was the centre of a small cluster of freckles. Fleur sighed, not unhappily, but rolled her eyes when Hermione looked up at her as she continued to lavish similar attention further down Fleur's torso on each of the freckles and moles as they trailed her body.

Hermione pushed herself up, pressing Fleur's hands into the mattress as she did so, not allowing the blonde to swat at her the way she desired. It was difficult for Hermione to think that Fleur did not see her body the way that she did, did not love it the same way that she did. She kissed Fleur's chin and then her full, pouting lips before giving her a look that was filled with love and an outpouring of lust. "This body is mine," Hermione told Fleur as she held her gaze, letting her lover see just how serious she was. Fleur found that she had lost the ability to speak, so she simply nodded her head in agreement. Hermione leant down and claimed her lover's lips again, kissing her passionately before delivering a trail of kisses to the nearest freckle. She pulled up again, capturing Fleur's eyes with a searching look. "I love every millimetre of it, every freckle and every single mole. They are not unsightly, they are not blemishes, they are beautiful and they are mine," she told her lover, "just the same as these are mine," she added, swooping down and taking a nipple in her mouth. She rolled it gently between her teeth then released it so that she could do the same to its partner. Hermione bit down gently before letting the nipple slip from her mouth and sitting up again.

Fleur had tears in her eyes. "Oui, et is all yours and only yours." She told her lover in a quiet, intense whisper, daring her to continue claiming body parts. It seemed however that she did not need to dare Hermione because the younger witch was obviously intent on doing just that. Fleur was pleased - she had done her best to ensure that while they were on the Whorecrux mission Hermione would feel no doubt or insecurity about their relationship. It seemed that Hermione was doing the same for her. Hermione sat upright, still holding Fleur's hands in her own but no longer pinning them to the bed. She ground her groin down on Fleur and the Veela could not stifle the responding growl that came from low in her throat. Hermione smirked. She loved that she was able to illicit such a response from Fleur. It sent another tidal wave of wetness to her own groin.

Hermione released one of Fleur's hands long enough to reach over and grab her wand. With a flick of her wand she used a sticking charm to pin Fleur's hands to the bed. Fleur smiled mischievously. "I can see we awoke feeling adventurous this morning," Fleur remarked, her lips curving in gentle amusement. Hermione simply smirked as she climbed off Fleur, walked to the bottom of the bed and flicked her wand again, spreading her lover's legs and sticking her feet to the bed. Hermione stood at the foot of the bed and took in the sight before her, memorising it, etching it into her brain because it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Fleur watched Hermione with heavy lidded eyes, her desire was apparent as Hermione leant over and tenderly kissed the arch of her foot. As Hermione very slowly crawled up Fleur's body she laid a trail of kisses up the insides of her legs. Hermione blanketed Fleur's inner thighs with small, ever so soft kisses, teasing the blonde mercilessly. Fleur felt herself grow moist as Hermione's hot breath sweep across her muff. She thrust her hips upwards in an attempt to entice Hermione to her most sensitive place. Hermione however had another idea in mind as she strayed to Fleur's left thigh and nuzzled the place where her leg met her groin until she found the mole she was looking for and tenderly drew it into her mouth. Hermione flicked her tongue over the mole and Fleur, helpless to do anything to quench her thirst, let out a groan that caused Hermione to grin. Hermione then kissed her way up Fleur's navel as she settled a leg in between the Veela's legs and gently pressed against her every now and then. Fleur ground herself up against Hermione as she let out a frustrated moan, while the brunette continued to lavish every inch of her skin with kisses.

Smiling with adoration, Hermione kissed Fleur's throat, knowing how much her lover enjoyed it when she paid attention there. She teased and nibbled her throat and neck in a curving line, all the way up to Fleur's ear. The French witch let out a whimper. "'Ermione, please do not tease me anymore," she begged. The young witch held Fleur's lusty gaze a moment longer before she disappeared down her body and gently spread her lower lips so she could flick her tongue over her clit. Fleur responded instantly and in many ways to this action; her clit, already hard and throbbing, almost pulsed with urgent longing - she could not release her hands to grab Hermione's head and thrust it into her crotch so she instead thrust her hips up into Hermione's face. The Veela growled with desire and baser needs as she fought to control herself.

Hermione could tell that Fleur was close, so she plunged two fingers into her while suckling tenderly on her love button. She continued to thrust into Fleur as she alternated between suckling and flicking her tongue, driving Fleur wild. It was not long before Fleur's inner walls were milking Hermione's fingers as she clenched and twitched around them. When Fleur reached orgasm she came screaming Hermione's name, her legs shaking with the effort she was using to try and move them as her back was arched tautly, pressing herself into Hermione's face.

Hermione crawled up the bed to kiss Fleur, letting the blonde taste herself. "You are delicious," Hermione told her as she flicked her wand and released Fleur's hands and feet. Fleur wrapped herself around the young witch and kissed her passionately, sharing her love with her.

Hermione smiled at Fleur, pleased to see that the blonde had enjoyed herself. The younger witch rolled off the bed, intending to use the bathroom to clean up a little. As she stepped away from the bed Fleur pounced, swishing her up against the wall and pinning her there, much the same way as they had done when they teased Pansy. Hermione let out a startled yelp but was soon melting into Fleur's kisses. She moaned Fleur's name as she felt her hand stray down past her navel and between her lower lips as she drew teasing circles around her clit. Hermione tried to move but Fleur used an arm across her chest to pin her to the wall more firmly, smiling at her young lover as she continued to tease her clit, alternating between circles and strokes. It was not long before Hermione was panting and groaning against Fleur's fingers.

"Merlin's vaginal beard, I want you inside me Fleur!" she pleaded. Fleur ignored the plea and kept Hermione pinned as she continued her work. The young witch was soaked with desire and was reaching her peak when Fleur withdrew her finger. Hermione whimpered as Fleur waved her finger under Hermione's nose before provocatively sliding the finger between her lips and closing her eyes as she drew it out again. Hermione reached her own hand down, desperate to touch herself and finish what Fleur had started.

"Non," Fleur said in a harsh tone before grabbing Hermione's wrist and spinning her around. She reached around and grabbed Hermione's other wrist, holding them together in one hand. She used this grip to steer Hermione to the bed and bend her over the edge. "'Ermione, you 'ave the most splendid backside I 'ave ever seen," she told her lover proudly and she meant it. The display before her was fantastic. Hermione tried to push herself back towards Fleur, now desperate for her to finish what she had started. Fleur gladly obliged, quickly pushing her fingers inside the Gryffindor's dripping core, first two then three, stretching Hermione delightfully. Hermione made some very loud and appreciative sounds as Fleur pumped into her with her fingers, each thrust mining a little deeper than before. Hermione's legs were shaking uncontrollably. Fleur smiled and curled her fingers. Hermione came hard and Fleur slowed but did not stop until Hermione was screaming out the pleasure of her second orgasm. Fleur withdrew her fingers from the gushing slit and slid them back to her clit. With every stroke Hermione twitched and writhed. Her third orgasm was all that she could bear as she collapsed on the bed.

Fleur smiled and withdrew her hand, she leant over and kissed the delightful backside in front of her before laying on the bed and pulling a still shaking Hermione into her arms. "'Ermione Jean Granger, I love you, I hope zat you realise zis?" Fleur told her lover shyly as they lay in each others arms. Both the witches were glistening with the sheen of sweat that covered their bodies.

"Fleur Isabelle Delacour, I do believe that I have fallen completely and utterly head over heels in love with you," Hermione responded with a rogueish grin, punctuating the statement with a kiss. Fleur smiled as she pulled Hermione's hand to her mouth and kissed her wrist where the purplish blemish that was their bond mark had appeared. Fleur slipped her hand into Hermione's and pressed the marks together. Almost immediately the two felt as though their bodies were meant to be together, as though they were one. Hermione gasped at the feeling. It just felt right, like they belonged together.

Hermione smiled. She finally realised that this was like the feeling she got when Fleur released her thrall on her, only this was amplified a thousand million times. She looked up at Fleur and opened her mouth to ask the question but Fleur cut her off, putting her finger over Hermione's lips. "I do not need to use my thrall on you, darling, and so I am not. You feel the way you do because you love me and we are bonded," Fleur explained. Perhaps to anyone else it would not have really been an explanation at all, but for Hermione it was enough. She understood because Fleur understood, they were connected now and that connection started with their souls and spread out to every fibre of their beings.

Hermione smiled and pulled Fleur tighter in her arms. The blonde rested her head on Hermione's breast, and there they lay content until it was time to get up. As they showered together to get ready for their day, not a word was passed between them. They just happened to be 'in sync' with each other. Hermione grabbed her bag which was packed with books and Fleur smiled as she held the door open for her. As Hermione approached the door, however, she pushed it closed and kissed Hermione passionately. The Veela pulled away and smiled warmly. "I sense you 'ave a busy day, so zat was to keep you going until after dinner when you are to report 'ere so zat we can go over your transfiguration essay," Fleur told her lover and though she was smiling Hermione could tell that she was not entirely joking and nodded her agreement. Internally she resolutely told herself that she could not and would not keep Fleur waiting this time, and certainly would not make her worry.

As the two young witches strolled into the Great Hall, Fleur gave Hermione's shoulder a quick squeeze and headed off to the teachers table to discuss some things with McGonagall. Hermione sat down beside Harry and began to shovel food into her mouth. Apparently she had built up an appetite to rival Ron's, these days. Ron himself was looking somewhat green around the gills. Quidditch try outs were today and he was clearly nervous though Ginny certainly appeared confident as she was grinning from ear to ear. Hermione chose to ignore Ron, who looked like he might vomit any moment, and turned to Harry. "How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked her friend. Harry considered her curiously; he knew that she was not referring to the Quidditch try outs as she had little interest in these things. If she was not referring to Quidditch that meant she must be referring to how he was coping after Sirius's death, working with Dumbledore and the matter of the horcruxes.

"If I said I was fine then could we leave this 'awkward feelings' talk until after the Quidditch try outs?" he asked, his green eyes pleading. Hermione considered this for a moment before nodding her head. There couldn't be any harm in that – at least he was admitting that he was not fine, but trying to get on with things as best he could.

Hermione turned to Ron. "Come on Ron, I'll walk you to the pitch," she told the Weasley boy as he nodded his head in agreement. Harry was right - Hermione had no interest whatsoever in the sport of Quidditch but she had never missed a practice or a game. She was always there to support her friends and this was no exception. Despite the fact that she felt none of them understood her, she did not need that type of understanding from them; it was enough to know that they loved her and that they would be there for her if she needed them. She offered Ron a reassuring smile and got up from the table and headed to the door.

Rolanda Hooch had been watching Hermione from the teachers table. She would swear that the girl had been positively glowing. Fleur too for that matter. She was going to have to find a way to get them to tell Minnie about the bonding soon or there would be serious trouble. Filius Flitwick was chatting away to her about some charms nonsense as she watched Hermione and Ron head for the door with a look that was almost fond, but suddenly another figure heading for the door caught her attention. "Uh oh, time for the hawk to swoop in," she said to herself as she got up from her seat and headed to the door, leaving Filius in midsentence, his goblet held aloft as he continued lecturing to a not-so-captive audience.

Hooch stepped into the hall just in time to see Pansy extend her hand and push Hermione against a wall roughly. "Remember me, Gayffinwhore?" Pansy asked in a nasty sneer. Hermione thrust a hand out instinctively and Ron grabbed it to steady her, although the poor boy didn't look all that steady himself.

Before either of them could respond, Hooch yelled, "that's 50 points from Slytherin, Parkinson!" Everyone's jaws fell open. Hooch rarely took points, let alone be this severe with anyone before.

Pansy spun around in disbelief, "What for?" she asked the flight instructor with an incredulous tone. "Madam Hooch?" she added, as a deferential afterthought.

"20 points for attacking someone from behind. That's just poor form, Parkinson. 20 points for using foul language in the corridor. 10 points for being a hypocrite," Hooch answered matter of factly.

"Exactly how am I a hypocrite?" Pansy asked automatically, her face screwing up in puzzlement, though seconds later she would regret asking.

Hooch smiled at her and answered, "This morning I was walking down to the dungeons and I saw you pinning Millicent Bulstrode to the wall outside the Potions classroom, with your hand working like a busy little beaver in her knickers. In my not so humble opinion that makes you not only rather gay but a bit of a whore too." With that, Hooch turned and strode away. Pansy turned scarlet as the now full corridor burst out into various whistles and cat calls. Millicent Bulstrode walked past Pansy, slapped her ass and proudly headed down towards the Slytherin common room. Pansy looked like she wanted to Obliviate everyone in sight.

Hooch winked at Hermione as she walked by. It seemed that the rest of the crowd completely forgot about Pansy addressing Hermione and she and Ron were able to leave the castle in peace and head out to the Quidditch pitch without further incident.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N Apologies for the delay – things should be back on track now **** thanks for being patient.**

**We actually love you guys for your reviews, I can't tell you how much they make us giggle and keep us going – thanks!**

Chapter 26 Help is given at Hogwarts – sometimes to those who don't deserve it!

Hermione and Fleur spent a lot of time together throughout the term, though they made more of an effort to conceal their relationship as they didn't want to intentionally spark any further incidents with the likes of Pansy. Hermione's time was more or less monopolised by Harry who was working with Dumbledore on the horcrux hunt. Fleur fought her own jealousy by telling herself that they just needed to get through this then she would have Hermione all to herself.

The two girls had fun getting Hermione ready to attend Slughorn's party. Fleur had been concerned about who Hermione would choose to take as a date - her worry being that she might go with Ron or Harry. Fleur found that she felt slightly jealous of the two boys at times; not because she thought that Hermione might leave her for one of them but simply because she felt that the two got to spend a lot of time with Hermione. When Hermione announced to Fleur that she would be taking Cormack McClaggen to Slughorn's party, Fleur confessed to being utterly bewildered at her lover's choice of partner. Fleur's only previous experience of McClaggen was Hermione swatting at his wandering hands at lunch one Saturday afternoon.

Hermione however had a plan; she would turn up to the party then publicly humiliate McClaggen for manhandling her, hopefully teaching him a lesson he wouldn't forget in a hurry, before storming out and spending the rest of the evening with Fleur. Thankfully, it all went to plan and within half an hour of Hermione and McClaggen arriving at the party, Hermione had felt a large hand firmly resting on her backside.

Hermione threw her drink in McClaggen's face before yelling, "I am not a piece of meat! Kindly keep your paws to yourself!" She turned and stormed out of the party, one hand covering her mouth to illustrate her upset and to hide her smirks. No one chased after her as she left, though Ginny gave her a knowing wink as she passed by. Fleur smiled as her lover entered her quarters. She took her into her arms and they spent the entire evening dancing to music only they could hear before settling into bed and reading a muggle book to each other called The Notebook.

As Christmas drew nearer Hermione surprised Fleur with a somewhat devious idea. The young witch reported to Fleur that she had told Harry and Ron that she was going home for Christmas but had also told her parents that she would be spending Christmas with the Weasleys. Fleur gave Hermione a concerned look. "You 'ave deceived your parents?" she asked tentatively.

Hermione huffed. She had expected Fleur to be delighted with the fact that she had arranged for them to spend Christmas alone together. "Yes, they don't expect it from me so they won't check. I wanted to spend the holidays with you." Hermione folded her arms defensively across her chest and scowled at Fleur, unimpressed.

Fleur stifled a smile as she took in the sight before her. She would never admit it but she thought that Hermione was very sexy when she was angry. Fleur stepped forward, "Of course I am 'appy and I want nozing more zan to spend Christmas 'ere wiz you," she said, sweeping a strand of bushy hair out of Hermione's scowling face and tucking it behind her ear, allowing the smile to spread across her face, "I just worry zat you are putting your relationship wiz your parents in jeopardy for no good reason." Fleur eased the admonishment with a gentle kiss on the lips.

Hermione softened her look a little. "YOU are a good reason Fleur! I want to spend time with you where I am not worrying about horcruxes or Whorecruxes, or keeping Harry out of trouble or worrying about exams or listening to my parents go on and on about how they are losing me to the wizarding world." Hermione sighed as she fought back tears. She had never voiced these fears about her parents before but the summer holidays had become almost unbearable with her parents constantly going on about losing her. They did not realise that they were pushing their only daughter further away. Hermione had noticed throughout the years that her relationship with her parents became more and more strained as they understood less and less about her life at Hogwarts and the responsibility that she felt towards Harry and Dumbledore.

Fleur saw pain flit across Hermione's face for the briefest of seconds and she wrapped her arms around her lover. "I would be delighted to spend Christmas wiz you, 'Ermione-" she told her, kissing away the unshed tears in the young witch's eyes. Hermione grinned and threw her arms around Fleur in delight, "-but we will stay 'ere at 'Ogwarts so zat we are both safe," she finished. Hermione nodded as she nuzzled into Fleur's neck. She couldn't care less where they spent Christmas, as long as they were together.

As Hagrid decorated the castle and Harry continued to attempt to get closer to Slughorn as per his not-so-secret mission from Dumbledore, Hermione and Fleur made plans for the two uninterrupted weeks that they would have together. Hermione looked through all the shops in Hogsmeade to try and find the perfect gift for Fleur for Christmas. Fleur also spent a lot of time considering what to get Hermione for Christmas while she was walking the halls of Hogwarts. Perhaps a book, because they seemed to illicit such unbridled pleasure from Hermione. She was trying to narrow it down to what type of book when she turned the corner and stepped onto one of the marble staircases. After only a couple of steps, she spotted Rolanda Hooch standing at the bottom of the stairs, hands planted on hips, clearly waiting for her.

Fleur couldn't help rolling her eyes. "'Ello Madame 'Ooch. 'Ow are you?" Fleur asked, as politely as she could, while continuing on her route to her quarters. She didn't stop beside Hooch as she could tell by the look on the flight instructor's face that she was not going to like whatever conversation was in store. Hooch's eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, and her hawk-like eyes followed Fleur as if she were prey running on the forest floor.

Hooch trotted after the Veela, the dismissal only fuelling the mounting anger within her. "Dont you 'Ello' me Missy!" Hooch huffed. When Fleur did not respond to her, she continued, "Minerva, will find out and when she does all hell will break loose in this castle. You mark my words." Hooch glanced sideways at Fleur and was relieved to see at least a creased brow as Fleur mulled over what she had just been told, yet still the French witch remained silent. " Well, if you won't do it then you leave me no choice, Delacour. I am going to have to tell her myself," Hooch announced.

Fleur stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, pinning Hooch to the wall with her glare. "You wouldn't dare! Telling 'er now will get you in as much trouble as us!" Fleur pronounced in a dangerous tone. She wanted to protect Hermione from the fall out of this but she was not quite sure how and her natural instincts to protect her mate had reared up automatically.

"The amount of trouble I will be in would be greatly lessened if the confession comes from me," Hooch said bluntly. "Minnie will be more forgiving if she knows that I made the right decision... eventually."

Fleur opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by a stern Scottish voice which cut through the conversation like an axe through butter. "Oh, will I now?" Professor McGonagall asked crisply. "Well, I expect that is dependent on who is confessing what then, doesn't it?"

"Shit!" Rolanda said under her breath as she slumped. Fleur watched Hooch visibly make herself smaller and flicked her eyes to McGonagall who was standing over them, glaring like an angry Hippogriff. She managed to look both expectant and wrathful at the same time.

"Shit indeed, Rolanda!" McGonagall hissed. Something was being kept from her and she didn't like it. McGonagall knew it was important, but that was the extent of her knowledge but one thing was for sure, if Rolanda was keeping it from her then she was not going to like whatever it was. "My study, now!" McGonagall barked and then added as an afterthought, "Should Miss Granger be joining us?"

"Non," Fleur said instantly Minerva gave her a questioning look so she clarified, "I 'ave no doubt zat you will wish to speak to 'Ermione about zis. 'Owever you will want to...deal wiz myself first, zen most likely you will want to spend time wiz 'Ermione alone." Fleur explained.

"Will I indeed?" McGonagall responded with furious puzzlement. Her heckles were raised as she continued walking to her study and rolled over in her mind what had been said. If she had been in her cat form, her tail would have been lashing from side to side in agitation. She was concerned that her cub had been hurt and she now had no doubt in her mind that this Veela either had something to do with it or she allowed it to happen. She flung open the door to her study. The door hit the wall and rebounded with some force, it became apparent that Minerva was enraged, and was not hiding it very well.

Minerva walked to her desk and sat down, throwing a piercing glare at the two women standing on the other side of her desk. They looked like two first years who had just been caught in the corridors after lights out. Fleur had her hands clasped behind her back and seemed strangely interested in the carpet she was standing on. Hooch on the other hand appeared to be cleaning her nails, not daring to lift her gaze up to meet Minerva's, and had obviously lost interest in the intricacies of the carpet after many times observing it while on the receiving end of a McGonagall verbal beatdown.

"One of you better start telling me what is going on and be quick about it!" Minerva barked. She was too tired for these foolish games. There was far too much going on that she didn't like and couldn't control. Albus appeared to have some disease that was causing his arm to rot and was being his usual secretive self, not to mention that he had another one of her cubs enrolled in some bloody secret mission that was no doubt dangerous. He had informed her that he and Harry would, one night be going off gallivanting doing who knows what, who knows where, and that he couldn't divulge any further details! The little Malfoy bastard had been ferreting around being sneaky and there was no doubt in her mind that he was up to no good - Mad Eye Moody might have had a point about transfiguring students. She was fairly sure that her cat animagus form would appear terrifyingly large to a small albino ferret. And now this new problem, whatever the hell this was. She sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose. The two witches in front of her had not said a word.

Minerva got up and poured a fire whiskey for each of them, checked her watch, noticed it was in fact after 12pm and made them doubles. She carried the three glasses over to her desk like a pro, thrust a glass into each of the witches hands and sat down rubbing her temples. "Sit down, and would someone please tell me what on earth is going on?" she said in a quiet tone. Minerva was weary of academia. Maybe she could retire? She could always find a nice tropical island somewhere, lay on the beach every day, sipping a cocktail out of a coconut shell and never let the word 'Hogwarts' darken her conscience again. She grabbed her glass and took a sip of the fire whiskey before her.

Fleur glanced at Hooch before rolling her sleeve up and placing her hand on the table palm up, clearly showing her bond mark. Minerva took in the sight with admirable calm. She had studied the Veela race as soon as her favourite student had been assigned this absurd mission. She knew what the mark meant; she reached out and lightly ran her fingers over it. Minerva wasn't sure what she had been expecting but she was surprised to note that the purple mottling felt like a feather while the rest of Fleur's skin felt silky smooth.

Minerva took a deep breath, pushing island dreams aside for the moment but resolving to check her contract's clauses on early retirement plans. "So you are bonded. It's no real surprise. I have seen you with Hermione and she clearly adores you. Please tell me you are bonded to her and not some other horny little bugger, as I do not think that I have the energy in me to heal her broken heart right now," Minerva said in the same calm breath. Fleur nervously nodded her head, this had not been the reaction she was expecting. Where was the rage? Where was the yelling? Where were the biscuits? This was all totally out of character and it was starting to unnerve her.

Minerva threw back the remaining fire whiskey in her glass then accio'd the bottle and poured another. This time she didn't bother with measures, she just filled the tumbler with a substantial amount of liquid. It wouldn't even have to be a whole island. Just a nice long, sandy white beach. A few palm trees. An endless supply of Firewhiskey and tiny wines. It wasn't asking for much, in the grand scheme of things. "Fleur, have you talked to her about it?" Minerva asked, the fire whiskey making her voice a little hoarser than she had intended it to be.

"Oui, we have discussed et several times, I 'ave 'ad to force 'er to take eet seriously at times, but she told me zat she was asked ze question and she accepted me and she is 'appy wiz zat choice." Fleur could not help but smile in pride at Hermione as she recounted their conversation to McGonagall. She thought now was as good a time as any to add, "I am concerned 'owever zat a combination of zings for example ze mission, her sexuality and her dating me 'as strained 'er relationship wiz 'er parents. She does not talk of eet much but I can see ze distance zat 'as grown between zem and eet... pains 'er."

Minerva nodded. She could understand exactly how this could have happened, she needed to talk to Hermione but she needed to be careful. If the young witch was feeling cut off from her parents she needed to ensure that she herself was the one role model that Hermione could count on. "Very well, it seems that you have dealt with this quite well, though it would have been better if I had been informed straight away, Miss Delacour," she peered sternly over the rim of her glasses as she said so, making her point clear. Fleur nodded her assent. "Miss Delacour, is there anything else I should know?" she asked.

Fleur bit her lip, she did not want to betray her lover, but she wanted to ensure her safety at the same time. Eventually she nodded her head. Minerva could tell that Fleur was struggling with whatever decision it was that she was making. "'Ermione 'as told 'er friends zat she is going 'ome for Christmas, yet she 'as told 'er parents zat she is going to spend Christmas wiz ze Weasley's" Fleur explained.

"Oh has she indeed!" Minerva exclaimed, it was entirely unlike Hermione to lie to anyone let alone her parents but the professor instantly understood Fleur's concerns about Hermione's relationship with her parents and nodded. "And exactly where will Miss Granger be spending her Christmas?" she asked.

Fleur took a deep breath and said, "'Ere wiz me." The statement hung in the air for a moment.

Minerva didn't like it – not one little bit. "I will deal with Miss Granger," McGonagall stated, then threw her hands up to stop Fleur's objection before the blonde witch could voice it, "I am much more clever than you give me credit for, Miss Delacour, I will not let on that the information came from you." Fleur blushed a little as she got up to leave. She silently closed the door behind her leaving Rolanda and Minerva alone in the study.

Minerva studied her sometimes lover and tried to figure out the best way to handle this situation. Rolanda sat and tried to be patient as she waited for Minerva to say something. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, got to her feet and began pacing, "Oh have a biscuit, Minnie!" she said in an exasperated tone before continuing, "I wanted to give them the opportunity to come to you themselves, I know how much Granger means to you, I was watching out for her because I..."

Hooch's speech was cut short by Minerva's lips pressing themselves against hers. The kiss was long and deep and passionate and though it had taken Rolanda completely by surprise she melted into within seconds.

Minerva pulled out of the kiss and headed to the door, "Rolanda, thank you for looking out for Hermione, it means a lot to me. I will see you tonight as we have arranged," she told the stunned flight instructor as she winked and left the room.

Hermione was packing her things up to leave her advanced transfiguration class when Professor McGonagall asked her to stay behind after class. Hermione approached the Professor's desk as the last of her class mates filed out the door. "Yes Professor?" she asked as she reached the desk.

"Miss Granger, I contacted your parents to see if they would be open to the idea of you staying at the school over the Christmas break as Prefect to help with patrols of the corridors and they told me that you had arranged to stay with the Weasley's. Imagine my surprise when Ron Weasley told me that your parents had not let you visit the Burrow this Christmas." Professor McGonagall watched Hermione over the rim of her glasses as the young witch turned scarlet at being caught in the tangled web of lies.

"I...I," Hermione stammered, unable to find any words to explain herself so instead she stared at the floor, which was unfortunately quite lacking in the interesting carpet department.

"Yes, indeed," Professor McGonagall stated at Hermione's less than impressive reaction. "Well suffice it to say your parents are happy with you staying at Hogwarts to complete Prefect's duties for extra credit, and the Weasley's are none the wiser so there is no lasting damage done. However that said, 15 points will be deducted from Gryffindor for lying to your parents about such a serious matter!" she told the young witch curtly. Hermione nodded tears welling in her eyes at the shame of losing house points and lying.

"I am sorry Professor," Hermione said and suddenly she wanted to explain everything to her Mentor.

Professor McGonagall smiled at Hermione as she pulled a biscuit tin out of her drawer and summoned a house elf to bring them some tea. The two sat there as Hermione poured her heart out about Fleur, the bond, the mission and her parents. McGonagall listened intently offering little nuggets of wisdom where she could and at other times just listening.

A couple of hours had passed when Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a hug and told her, "now remember, I want you to come and talk to me once a week so that we don't get ourselves in this situation again, alright?" Hermione nodded, she felt better having talked to McGonagall, though she felt a pang of regret wishing it had been her mother, but of course her mother would not understand half the things that she had told Professor McGonagall.

Hermione felt lighter as she made her way to the girls dormitory. Tomorrow the castle would be almost empty as the students returned to their parents for the holidays and she wanted to tell Ginny all about what had happened with McGonagall and Fleur. She also wanted to get Ginny's opinion on the present she had got for Fleur for Christmas. Ginny was in her dorm waiting for her and Hermione sat down at one end of the bed while Ginny sat at the other and the two girls chatted away companionably late into the night.

Fleur was adding the finishing touches to her gift for Hermione; she had decided not to go with a book after all. She was pleased with her gift and she made a mental note to thank her sister, Gabrielle for the idea. She was really looking forward to Christmas. It was going to be so special. Fleur had also spoken to Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore and as an early surprise had arranged for Hermione's parents to come to the castle on Christmas eve for dinner, so that her lover did not have to go the whole holiday without seeing her parents. It also had soften the blow when she told her lover that she too was spending Christmas Eve with her parents and would be flooing out for the day. She reassured Hermione that she would be back in the early evening and that the two witches would spend Christmas day together.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN – Apologies for the extended absence...please review.**

Chapter 27 Be Careful What You Wish For.

Hermione's parents were reluctant to leave their daughter on Christmas Eve, but they had enjoyed a lovely day with her. At one point, Mr Granger had questioned inwardly whether he knew his daughter at all when she seemed so distracted that even discussing her studies did not spark the usual excitement that she had displayed during other holidays. Smiling to himself, he realised that she must be thinking of someone at school. He could only hope that he or she was good to his baby girl. They exchanged gifts but Hermione could only be politely grateful for the collection of 'top 10 best selling' books that her parents had got her. She knew that, had she received this gift a year ago, she would have been ecstatic. If there was one thing that muggles did better than wizards it was write a damn good novel. She'd spent her childhood before Hogwarts immersed in fantastical tales of daring deeds and epic journeys (her favourite had always been Lord of the Rings, which now that she thought about it, bore striking similarities to her own world and adventures). Now she could only wonder exactly when she would find time to allow the books to take her away to the world of make believe; her time was already limited between shagging her way through a complete set of Whorecruxes, studying for her exams and dating Fleur.

In turn, Hermione had given her parents a photo album that Fleur had helped her make - from the parchment and cover right down to choosing the pictures that filled the pages - which included various adhoc pictures of Hermione studying, cheering at quidditch games and a variety of other scenes that Hermione had not know Fleur had been photographing. Hermione delighted in her Mom's pleasure and her Dad's pride as they flipped through the pages in wonder at the magical moving pictures. They were even happier when Hermione showed them that if they pressed an enchanted area on the back cover, the pictures froze, allowing them to show off the album to muggle family and friends.

When Hermione's parents finally left with Professor McGonagall, her Mom was clutching the album against her chest as though it was a most cherished possession. Hermione smiled at the sight, running after them to give them a last quick, tight hug and to wish them Merry Christmas once more. Professor McGonagall disappeared through the gates to the castle and Hermione sighed and dawdled back up to the main entrance on her own, replaying the evening she had spent with her parents in her head. For almost an entire hour now Hermione had forgotten about Whorecruxes, Horcruxes and the fate of the Wizarding World, and had been happy to spend time with her parents and dream of the simple and safe muggle life they led. She tried to picture herself as a dentist where her biggest worry would probably be whether she would finish that double root canal in time to catch CSI on TV. It was a disturbingly attractive thought. She amused herself by allowing this thought to play out when suddenly she felt her mind jerk awake as it sensed the familiar darkness that told her a Whorecrux was nearby.

Hermione stopped in the middle of the corridor, heart pounding, and listened for signs that there might be someone nearby. She heard nothing. No voices, no footsteps no breathing. Silence. Hermione considered briefly that she might be going crazy, but that familiar darkness tugged at her mind again, sharper this time. She spun around and scanned the corridor for signs of movement but again saw nothing. Hermione took a few steps and then tried to determine if the feeling was weaker or stronger. She used this method for about 20 minutes and finally found herself in one of the courtyards. It appeared to be deserted, but the dark feeling persisted. Hermione stood in one corner of the courtyard and scanned the area. It was definitely empty. Puzzled, she knew that she was missing something, something obvious, but couldn't identify what it was. She decided to walk the perimeter of the courtyard.

About halfway around the perimeter, Hermione began to shiver violently. "What do you want?" came the scream and Hermione realised she was face to ghostly face with none other than the Grey Lady.

"Oh - Helena isn't it?" Hermione asked breathily, as she tried to slow her thrumming heart.

"What do you want?" The Grey Lady asked again, but this time she did not scream the question and for that Hermione was immensely grateful.

"I was just, um, patrolling, when I found this courtyard. It's quite well hidden isn't it?" Hermione explained as she crossed her fingers behind her back. She needed to get to know the ghost better if she was in fact a Whorecrux.

"No one ever comes down here, except Luna," the Grey Lady answered, peering suspiciously at the Gryffindor. "Kind Luna. She is my friend."

The tone suggested the Grey Lady didn't have many of those. Hermione relaxed a little. "Luna is my friend too," she said cautiously.

The Grey Lady considered this girl in silence for a moment. If Luna was friends with her then surely she could give her a chance. "Yes, I am Helena. I need to go now, the Bloody Baron has called all the ghosts to him." With that the ghost abruptly turned to leave.

Hermione nodded reluctantly, unable to think of a means of keeping the ghost around for a bit longer or indeed of asking any personal questions. It wasn't as far as she knew, polite conversation to enquire whether Voldemort had ever implanted a piece of himself in you sexually after meeting someone for the first time. After all, one could not simply Disapparate into Mordor. "It was nice to meet you. Perhaps next time we could, chat a bit longer," she called after her. Helena stopped where she was and turned to look at Hermione with eyes that seemed to fade into the gloom more slowly than the rest of her body did. After a moment she nodded, though without saying anything, then drifted through the wall.

Hermione sighed and headed back to Fleur's quarters to await her return. When she arrived, she sat down on the couch and began to think about her encounter with Helena Ravenclaw in more depth. She wondered how the ghost could have become a Whorecrux, and, more to the point and rather worryingly, how were they going to deal with her? As she sat there puzzling the issue over, Hermione slowly drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, a familiar scent of lavender and vanilla wafted under her nose. Hermione smiled without opening her eyes and turned her face towards the delicious scent. "Mmm, you smell good," she said and a soft, throaty chuckle came from above her. Hermione opened her eyes to see that Fleur had managed to sit herself on the couch and Hermione had been laying in her lap unawares.

"Ma Petite Loutre, did you have a nice day wiz your parents?" Fleur asked as she lazily stroked her barely awake lover's head.

"Yes," Hermione answered sleepily, "My parents are well and they are proud of my accomplishments as ever."

Fleur nodded. "As zey should be, of course." She leaned over and kissed Hermione's forehead tenderly. "Now to bed wiz you!" Fleur declared.

Hermione groaned in response. "But it's so comfy here..." she whined as she snuggled closer into Fleur's lap.

Fleur smiled. "Per'aps we both should get to bed. Zen in ze morning we can open our presents," she said, indicating the small tree on the table which had brightly wrapped presents underneath it.

Hermione smiled and sat up, pressing her lips against Fleur's before pushing herself to her feet, "I have a present I would like to unwrap right now!" she whispered playful. Fleur could feel her heart speed up at the implication but she playfully raised an eyebrow at Hermione and pretended to look confused. In response Hermione reached out her hand and pulled Fleur to her feet. She unbuttoned Fleur's blouse quickly and pushed it back off of the blonde's shoulders. Fleur smiled ruefully as Hermione walked backwards towards the bedroom discarding one item of Fleur's clothing after another on the floor.

"Mademoiselle, you appear to be over dressed," Fleur said breathily as Hermione nibbled on her throat. Fleur pushed Hermione back towards the bed and hastily began removing her lovers clothing while Hermione desperately tried to bite, lick or kiss every inch of Fleur's available skin. Fleur smiled at Hermione's determination and enjoyed the attention that she was getting. Fleur let out a sort of a triumphant, and yet defeated, moan when Hermione pulled herself away from her, but it was only long enough to discard the remaining clothes and once her mission was complete Hermione pinned Fleur to the bed and continued her previous mission of putting her mouth on all of Fleur at once.

It was with this passionate love making that Fleur and Hermione welcomed the Christmas morning, until all their energies spent, both women, coated in sweat and tangled in each other's arms, fell into a deep sleep. When Fleur awoke she instinctively shivered as a cool breeze swept across her body. Reaching down, she pulled the covers over herself and then sent a wandering hand searching for her bed mate. When she found that Hermione was not asleep beside her she willed herself to fully wake. Opening her eyes, she let out a short groan, flinching at the sunlight streaming in from the window as her brain tried to tell her she was too tired to be up and her body told her that the love making with Hermione had left her with more than a little ache.

"'Ermione, darling, come back to bed.," Fleur begged as she squinted towards Hermione who was wrapped in a sheet standing by the open window looking out at the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts.

Hermione turned to her dishevelled and tired looking lover and the smile on her face grew even bigger. "Happy Christmas Fleur!" she exclaimed as she bounded over to the bed and leapt onto the empty side. Hermione was clearly trying to hide the excitement of a 6 year old on Christmas morning. Fleur groaned in protest. "Eet is too early, cherie. At least make me some coffee!"

Hermione giggled. "Actually it is after 9am and your coffee is in the study, by your presents."

Fleur's eyes shot open. "Presents?" she asked, unable to contain a sudden rush of excitement. She had not expected anything, what with everything else that was on Hermione's mind at the moment. She began to wonder when Hermione had even found the time. She sat up in the bed and looked at Hermione, then gently grabbed her face and kissed her sweetly. "I was not expecting anyzing from you, 'ow is it even possible zat you have got me something?" she asked Hermione though she cut Hermione off before she could answer by crashing their lips together again. The bushy-haired witch let Fleur push her back on the bed as she kissed her but the kiss was cut short by Fleur leaping from the bed, suddenly wide awake, and grabbing a pair of underwear and a t-shirt. She threw the clothing on as she burst into the study and made her way over to the tiny Christmas tree, examining each present as though she were trying to guess what they were.

Hermione joined her a moment later, having pulled on a pair of jeans and a jumper. She stepped over to the table and poured some coffee for Fleur, choosing to have some milk herself. Fleur turned to her with shining eyes. "Ma Petite Loutre, zere are 3 present 'ere from you to me?" she asked excitedly.

Hermione nodded then indicated to the presents. "And those are from Ginny and Professor McGonagall." Fleur's eyes widened in surprise then she pulled out her gift for Hermione and handed it to her, blushing a little as she did so. They each tore off the wrappings to their presents with the wanton abandon of children and marvelled at their gifts. Hermione opened a small case containing various potion bottles, each one had a label handwritten in Fleur's delicate penmanship. She looked at the bottles and then to Fleur questioningly.

Fleur grinned. "I personally like your 'air as et is when we get up in ze morning, but eet is ze only zing I 'ear you complain about, so I made zese 'air potions for you. We are quite good wiz 'air, ze veela, my Grand Maman used to say zat 'er 'air was uncontrollable so she developed potions to 'elp 'er," she explained. Hermione stared in wonder at Fleur, who had taken a family secret and made it a gift to her without betraying that secret. She delicately put the case down and went over to Fleur, wrapping her arms around her in appreciation. Fleur pulled her lover onto her lap and stared at her own gifts, hand-made stationery adorned with "From the desk of Professor Delacour" in periwinkle blue ink. As well as the stationery there was a selection of coloured inks and 3 carefully crafted quills that were so white that Fleur could hardly believe her eyes. Hermione picked up one of the quills. "The feathers are from Hedwig. I made some for Harry too. The stationery is something that muggles use a lot... I thought you might enjoy sending notes to me this way sometime." Hermione's face flushed with embarrassment as she explained about her gift.

"I love eet, and I love you, 'Ermione Granger!" Fleur exclaimed and she began kissing Hermione's neck fervently.

"I love you too." Hermione said, her voice catching with emotion, then she stood up from Fleur's lap. "We will be expected at breakfast," she said struggling to regain her composure.

After breakfast the two ladies went for a walk in the beautiful snow-covered grounds of Hogwarts. For a few hours they forgot that they were supposed to be saving the world and simply took pleasure in being in each other's company. The couple had an amazing Christmas together, enjoying dinner with Professor's Dumbledore, McGonagall and the handful of students who had stayed over winter break at Hogwarts. Hermione and Fleur spent as much time with each other as possible, reading, working on charms that they were teaching each other and Fleur helping Hermione perfect some transfiguration spells. When term started again they fell into the routine of Hermione going to class and then 'studying' with Fleur after class. Between spending time with Fleur and trying to counselling Harry on Horcruxes, Hermione quickly became exhausted again and as a result her temper was getting shorter and shorter.

One night she was particularly tired. Harry had gone off on some secret mission with Dumbledore and she had no idea when to expect him back, but she had decided to tell Fleur about the two Whorecruxes she had identified. She had meant it to be reassuring because it meant that they only had one more Whorecrux to identify, however upon telling Fleur about Helena Ravenclaw being a Whorecrux later that evening, things became a little heated. "Fleur," Hermione said, pinching her nose in frustration and then realising she was turning into McGonagall and yanking her hand away abruptly, "I realise that the fact that she is a ghost is potentially problematic, but we don't need to deal with it right now. I'm just saying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

"Potentially problematic? She is dead! The only way we could remove the piece of dark soul is if we are also ethereal!" Fleur shouted in exasperation.

Hermione held her hands up in a placating gesture. "Look, we can talk to Dumbledore together in the morning. I am sure he has an idea on how to approach this. Please stop worrying." Tears welled in her eyes as she said it. Fleur spun to look at Hermione, hearing her voice break, she sat next to her and pulled her into her arms. "Fleur, I am so tired of all this," Hermione said as she began to sob before continuing, "Helena Ravenclaw isn't even the worst. I know of one other Whorecrux." Hermione sniffled as she felt Fleur's body stiffen against her. Fleur pushed away from Hermione so that she could look her in the eye.

"'oo?" was all Fleur could gasp out. Fear gripped her insides as she tried to imagine what could be worse than a ghost for a Whorecrux.

Hermione, suddenly seeing the fear on Fleur's face, looked away from her quickly. She had no desire to drop this revelation on her and she closed her eyes and wished for some merciful deity to get her out of this conversation. Suddenly, as though her prayer had been answered, there was a frantic pounding on the study door. Both witches stared at each other for a second as they wondered why anyone would disturb them at this late hour.

"Fleur! Hermione! Open up! NOW!" came a demanding voice through the door. Hermione instantly recognising it as Ginny, sprang to her feet and ran to the door, not even wasting the time to wipe the tears from her face.

She threw open the door. Fleur was behind her, already gripping her wand in readiness. "Ginny? What the hell is going on?" Hermione exclaimed but out in the corridor there were shouts and other sounds, sounds that turned Hermione's insides to water as she reached for her own wand.

"Oh thank the Gods! Hermione there are Death Eaters in the castle!" Ginny said desperately. Her face had a long, angry-looking scratch on it and she appeared to have rubble in her hair. Hermione pulled Ginny into the study, pushing the door shut but not all the way.

"Ginny, how many? Where?" Hermione asked quickly. Fleur was standing by the door, watching for anyone approaching, letting Hermione try to get some sense out of her friend.

"In the astronomy tower," Ginny said, "I don't know how many. I heard Bellatrix, and Draco but there are more than that. Snape is headed up there." Ginny spoke quickly but was clearly unsettled by the whole situation. Hermione took over her appearance, assessing whether her friend needed some treatment.

"Zey are coming zis way," Fleur murmured, raising her wand.

Hermione and Ginny spun, wands poised threateningly as they heard several sets of footsteps run past the door followed by someone screaming "SNAPE HE TRUSTED YOU!" Hermione and Ginny looked at each other in horror. "Harry!" they exclaimed in unison and they headed for the door just as a second set of Death Eaters were running down the hallway. The three witches burst out into the corridor and fired hexes at the Death Eaters, who were taken out before they knew what hit them. They had dealt with three out of the four Death Eaters when the fourth one slipped out the main entrance. Hermione and Ginny gave chase immediately, with Fleur bringing up the rear but once in the courtyard they saw a crowd of people standing at the base of the Astronomy tower. They turned towards the crowd, trying to see what it was that they were all looking at. The sombre expressions twisted Hermione's gut into panicked knots. Fleur saw it first and grabbed Hermione, trying to shield her from the sight, but to no avail. Hermione saw clearly what the crowd was gathered around. Tears were flowing freely down every student and teachers' face as they looked upon Albus Dumbledore's dead and crumpled body in stunned disbelief. Hermione had began to process what had happened, her mind working quicker than anyone else as she clung to Fleur's arm to steady herself.

Harry stumbled through the crowd and fell to his knees by Dumbledore's side, ignoring any attempts to help him up. Ginny went to him trying to offer comfort for she knew his loss was great - probably greater than anyone else's. Wands were raised in the air in a salute to the schools fallen comrade. Ron came up behind Hermione and whispered in her ear. "We need to be ready Hermione, you know what this means," he told her quietly.

Hermione spun in rage. "They are grieving, Ronald, we need to warn them that right now they are at their weakest and most vulnerable to attack! Besides can you see Harry leaving in the middle of this?" she spat at him and in that moment she absolutely hated him for being so insensitive.

"Hey, he was my headmaster too, you know! More than that, I was brought up being told he was the greatest wizard ever lived and the only one who would follow in his footsteps would be Harry, so I am not exactly ecstatic about any of this, but WE NEED TO GO." He shouted the last part and students and teachers turned and stared at them. A warning growl escaped Fleur's lips and something deep within her slid past her eyes for a moment as she took a step towards this idiot boy who was clearly upsetting Hermione further.

Hermione put her hand up to stop the French witch from moving forwards. "He is right, Fleur," she murmured, then turned her attention to Ron, "Get Harry!" She turned back to Fleur, taking both of her hands in her own. "Do you know how much I love you?" she asked and Fleur nodded as her face paled. Tears were streaming down Hermione's own face. "We need to get the teachers together, but once we have done that we are leaving, Harry, Ron and I and I will need you to trust me." Hermione looked at Fleur and waited for her to nod. "Thank you," she whispered when the French witch finally did so, then she dropped Fleur's hands and ran to gather the professors.

The student body was herded into the Great Hall while Hagrid, huge tears dripping into his rough, tangled beard, moved Dumbledore's body. Moments later Fleur entered the teacher's lounge where Hermione was waiting for her, the remaining teaching staff in tow. Hermione, suddenly nervous, fidgeted with her hands until Fleur grasped her twitching fingers to steady her. "Thank you for coming," she started and the teachers quietened down. "The school is in danger of another attack, you need to fortify and call in any allies you might have." At that moment Harry and Ron burst through the door and were met by the business end of every wand in the room. They froze and then slowly walked over beside Hermione, handing her a beaded bag as they did so. Hermione turned back to the teachers, "Harry, Ron and I have been working on missions for the Order. I can't tell you about it," she said holding her hand up to a protesting Professor Sprout, "but we know that there will be more Death Eaters and they will strike hard when you are most vulnerable - which is now. We will help you fortify but you must act immediately, and the three of us need to leave as soon as possible!" Her statement was met with absolute silence and she turned her pleading eyes to Professor McGonagall.

Minerva glanced quickly to Rolanda who gave her a swift, trusting nod. "Professor Flitwick, take a group of the sixth and seventh years and fortify the grounds. Mr Filch, take all students 4th year and below to the dungeons for their protection. Professor Sprout, Mr Finnigan and Mr Longbottom can take care of the bridge. Rolanda, would you fly up to the owlry and send owls to the Order, the Ministry and anyone else you can think of. I will address the students myself." When she finished speaking everyone sprang into action. McGonagall turned to Hermione who was worrying at her lip. "Miss Granger, do you have a doubt?" the Professor asked Hermione.

"I just worry that we are tipping our hand to our defences," Hermione stated.

The Professor grinned in spite of herself. "This castle has a fair few hidden defences, don't you worry about that," she said crisply, turned to leave and came torso to face with Professor Flitwick. "I strongly protect, I become unyielding and I push back the enemy should just about do it, Filius" she told him.

Professor Flitwick nodded and recited, "Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum, Protego Maxima." Professor McGonagall nodded in approval then disappeared out the door to address the students.

Hermione looked at the boys who clearly felt uncomfortable waiting around. "I don't think they need our help with anything, Hermione." Harry stated. His meaning was clear.

Hermione nodded and then turned back to Fleur. "I love you, always. I will write when I can, I swear it," Hermione said, her voice catching, then took a deep breath and reached up to kiss Fleur, all the passion in her soul torrenting through her body in a rush of pure adoration.

Ron cleared his throat huffily. "Oi! There's a war going on here, you know!" he said in exasperation but Harry elbowed him in the ribs. Fleur glared at Ron as Hermione broke off the kiss, looking at the ground. She clearly did not want to go but Fleur knew that this was something she had to do.

"Go, find the rest of the 'orcruxes. I will be here when you come back... but promise me you will come back Ma Petite Loutre?" Fleur asked and her voice broke a little too.

"I promise," Hermione said and she squeezed Fleur's hand before turning around grabbing Ron and Harry and apparating away before she lost her nerve.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: Warning for Sweary words! Please review and let us know what you like.**

Chapter 28 For the greater good. I want to do what must be done.

The three teens materialised in the Forest of Dean. Hermione took out her wand rather sullenly and began the protective enchantments. Their sudden departure didn't sit right with her at all. Harry, whose first experience of British countryside had been his first journey on the Hogwarts Express and then his subsequent trips from the castle to the nearby village of Hogsmeade, stared in wonder at the trees around him. His wide eyes surveyed the forest - they were in the thick of it and Ron was already working on pitching the tent. Harry could see a meandering stream wander between the trees nearby and went to fetch water as the other two worked. He couldn't shake the feeling that Hermione was upset and didn't want to speak to either of them, but something was bothering him and he desperately wanted to question her about it.

By the time Harry returned to their campsite with the water, Ron had finished the tent and Hermione was walking the perimeter of her protective wards, double checking that everything they needed was in place. Harry went through the opening flap of the tent and allowed the joy of magic to fill his heart as his memory stirred back to a happier time; a time when Ginny was at his side and his biggest concern was whether the Irish or the Bulgarians would win the world cup. He smiled as he remembered Ginny and the twins dancing around the tent singing 'Victor, I Love You" at Ron who had been decidedly starstruck by the Bulgarian Seeker.

Harry was catapulted out of his memories as Hermione walked into him carrying a bundle of wood which she dropped after she collided hard with him.

"Sorry Hermione!" Harry exclaimed as he bent down to help her gather the wood she dropped. Her face was puffy and her eyes were red. He surmised that she had been crying. "You really love her, don't you?" he asked. Hermione faltered in her wood collection and that was all the answer he needed. Harry reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. She was trembling. "I'm terrified, you know," he started as Ron came over and joined them. "This is going to be dangerous and I haven't a clue what I'm doing, so thank you both." He turned to Hermione, "Thank you for leaving Fleur there and coming with me."

Hermione listened to Harry speaking and sometimes she found it really hard to tell if he was wise beyond his years, or simply as thick as Ron, but either way she loved him greatly. She dropped the wood in her arms a second time and pulling Ron in too, she embraced the boys who she considered her brothers, before wiping her face and gathering the wood again and heading over to the fireplace to break it up and shove it in.

Ron's eyes met Harry's and the two burst out laughing as they watched Hermione. "Mental that one, I'm telling you," Ron said jovially, and though the first time those words had been uttered by him they had been hurtful, the phrase had become something of an in-joke to the three of them, used to lighten the mood whenever Hermione got overly emotional about anything.

Hermione let out a soft chuckle. "Yes well Ronald, I'm one of the only friends you've got," she quipped back and Ron smiled at her. For all her brains and intelligence she could not figure out what purpose bringing Ron along could have, other than having someone who could make her and Harry both feel like geniuses in comparison. As though he could tell she were thinking exactly this Ron raised an eyebrow at her before slumping down into a dusty armchair and putting his feet up on the small folding table in front of him.

"Make us a cup of tea, Hermione?" he asked and then just like that everything was back to normal. Ron was being an idiot, Hermione's face was red with rage and Harry just felt exasperated with the pair of them.

"Oh yes, because my tits make me the most qualified to make tea?" Hermione spat out as she piled the wood that she snatched off of Harry in a basket by the closed fireplace that could double as a stove, her rage evident by the force with which she threw the wood down.

"Alright calm down, I was only asking because you were next to the stove. Bloody hell you're touchy!" Ron replied but when Hermione's hand dropped down to her wand he held his hands up quickly in defence. "Hey, hey, HEY!" he yelled at her as she withdrew said wand and aimed it in his direction.

Satisfied with Ron's squirming, Hermione cast a nonverbal cleaning spell on the other two armchairs and picked the one next to him, as she sat down and tried to figure out what they were going to do next. She couldn't help grinning at Ron's obvious discomfort as he eyed the wand still in her hand. She knew she would never really hurt him but Ginny had also made it painfully obvious that she had been teaching Hermione all the hexes she knew, including her infamous bat bogey hex (Ginny had confided in Hermione that Mrs Weasley had taught her - Hermione had hardly believed it when Ginny told her this little nugget of information, but Ginny went on to explain that the Weasley matriarch knew that her only daughter would have her work cut out for her in a family with six brothers). Hermione sniffed loudly, in a most undignified way, but even Harry snorted at the very feminine whimper that came from Ron at the implication.

Meanwhile, Harry was filling a kettle with water and placing it on top of the stove, preparing the tea that Ron had requested. At the smell of the hot drink Harry's stomach let out a growl to let him know that it needed some attention. Hermione reached into her beaded bag and pulled out a box of sandwiches that the house elves had prepared for her. She had made it a habit to stop into the kitchens at Hogwarts each morning after breakfast. Dipsy would prepare a box of sandwiches and some other snacks which she would put it in her beaded bag and at the end of the day she would feed them to whichever of Hagrid's magical creatures would eat them. She had known for a while that they would be on the run soon and had wanted to be prepared for such an eventuality. Dipsy, being a resourceful house elf who wanted nothing more than to please Hermione, had spent a lot of time preparing foods for her that would keep longer, like dried meats etc. She had never told Dipsy why she needed these things but as their relationship grew there was an unspoken understanding between them.

"Hermione?" Harry asked nervously while he made tea. Hermione looked up at him waiting for the question on his lips. "You always told us that you couldn't apparate in and out of Hogwarts... but we just did. I was just wondering, how was that possible?" Harry asked nervously. He knew that Ron had provoked her already, and he agreed with Ron's assessment - she was a bit touchy, certainly but he couldn't wonder about it any longer without driving himself crazy.

"No," Hermione answered, "I said that _you_ couldn't apparate into and out of Hogwarts. However, I can." She looked smugly at Harry and Ron, knowing that she had their full attention for once. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "I was worried about the day when Hogwarts would be attacked and we would need to get you out of there in a hurry, Harry, so I went to the..."

"LIBRARY," Harry and Ron chorused in unison.

Hermione scowled at the pair before continuing. "Yes alright, I went to the library and researched how to escape from Hogwarts undetected. Aside from the not-so-secret passages, I thought there there was no possible way to exit. That's when I remembered exactly what Hogwarts: A History said - "a _Witch or Wizard_ cannot apparate within the grounds of Hogwarts." Hermione stopped talking as though this were answer enough.

"But Hermione, umm, you're a witch." Ron said nervously.

"Oh, well spotted Ronald!" she snapped back at him but when she saw that Harry's face looked as equally confused she rolled her eyes again, pinched the bridge of her nose and explained. "I don't think that anyone else will have thought of this... but I asked Dipsy to teach me how house elves do it. I think it is one of the reasons that they are never mentioned in the books, because they are a weakness to Hogwarts defences, but as no one pays any notice of them it should be fine." When she finished Harry and Ron stared at her in disbelief.

"Hermione, you really are brilliant you know that?" Harry said, breaking the silence, and Ron mumbled something in stunned agreement. Hermione smiled at the boys, relishing these moments when they appreciated her intellect properly.

Harry set the mugs of tea on the table and sat in the free armchair. "Right well, we need a plan," he stated and looked to Hermione expectantly. Hermione sipped her tea and thought for a moment, desperately trying to reach the recesses of her mind for even the beginnings of a plan, but all she could think of was Fleur and if Hogwarts was already under attack.

Ron cleared his throat. "I think I've got something," he announced, clearly still a little nervous about provoking Hermione. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he quickly covered it by rubbing his jaw before turning to face Ron.

"Let's have it then," Harry said, obviously not really expecting much.

Hermione, on the other hand made no attempt to hide the surprise on her face and turned to Ron expectantly. "Yes Ronald, do tell us your plan."

Ron winced at Hermione's tone but pressed onwards anyway. "Well we know that You-Know-Who has attacked Hogwarts, taking out it's strongest defence. If I were him, my strategy would be to attack the Minster for Magic and the Ministry itself at the same time. We need to get a look at what is going on in there, find out exactly how much trouble we really are in before we go strolling around Wizarding Britain looking for more Horcruxes," Ron said then took a deep breath before continuing, "and while we are on the subject, I had an idea about the Horcruxes as well. I was doing some reading in the library..."

"Wait, what?" Hermione interrupted, as clearly she had misheard his last sentence.

"I _can_ read, you know!" Ron spat back. "Anyway, I thought about the Horcruxes. We've seen the diary, the ring and now the locket," Ron continued. Hermione raised an eyebrow, this was the first she had heard about the locket.

"Oh, here," Harry pulled the locket out of his pocket and showed her. He had explained to Ron already what he and Dumbledore had been up to that night before Hogwarts was attacked. He showed her the note signed R.A.B. Hermione examined the locket carefully and saw that it had a snake on it. She turned her attention back to Ron, who continued speaking. "Well two things; firstly, while Tom Riddle was at school the books he checked out were all related to the founders of Hogwarts, so I think that the Horcruxes are definitely related to them somehow. Secondly, when Harry showed me that locket I checked the library records and there was only one student with those initials." He paused for dramatic effect, but one look at Hermione told him to carry on, "Regulus Arcturus Black."

Hermione sat back considering what Ron had said, while in contrast Harry got up from his chair and began to pace, trying to put all the information into some sort of order that made sense.

"All very valid points Ron, well done." Hermione said to him, still a little bewildered that he had come up with all of this given that just moments before she was questioning his value.

"Right, well we can't exactly research the founders without getting back to the library..." Harry said but his voice trailed off as Hermione began pulling books out and putting them into 3 separate piles, one in front of each of them.

"Even when we aren't in school she's getting us to study," Ron whined as he picked up the first book in his pile, A History of Magic, and opened it reluctantly.

"I suggest we spend a few hours looking through these and make a list of items belonging to the founders, then get some rest and do some reconnaissance at the Ministry in the morning. It should be easy to tell by who is coming and going from the Ministry whether or not it has fallen," Hermione said as she grabbed her pile of books and headed over to the makeshift kitchen table to study, taking a sandwich and her cup of tea with her.

"Don't you think we should go to Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling a desire to see the familiar home of his godfather.

Hermione looked up at him sadly and paused for a moment, before delicately answering. "No, I think that is where we should go if we ever want the Death Eaters to catch us. Think about it, Harry, if you were You-Know-Who and wanted to capture the boy-who-lived-to-make-his-life-hell, where would you look? And where would you set traps?" she explained.

Harry's face fell and Hermione felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She knew that Grimmauld Place was the closest thing he had to a home and he would get some comfort from being there. "I'm sorry, but if we go there and get caught... if You-Know-Who doesn't kill you, then Fleur definitely will," she finished and Harry nodded, relenting as he picked up a book and began to research Rowena Ravenclaw.

A few hours later, Hermione pulled books from the laps of the sleeping boys and finished her research notes with those books. With a flick of her wand she summoned blankets and covered up her friends before curling up on one of the bunks and grabbing a couple of hours sleep before they went to spy on the Ministry.

"Move over, Ronald!" Hermione snapped, pushing Ron back into the room behind the wall. Hermione knew that there was a slight shake to her voice that couldn't be disguised. She was afraid - no, she was terrified - but that did not stop her from trying to get a better look. They had broken into an abandoned office building opposite the entrance to the Ministry of Magic several hours earlier and had taken turns sat at the window watching wizards and witches come and go, when one specific witch had appeared. Ron had alerted Harry and Hermione who had dove under the invisibility cloak so that they could get a better look without being seen themselves.

"Ouch!" Harry yelped, as he lifted his hand to his scar and rubbed it gingerly. Hermione shot him a look and added it to the ever-increasing list of things she should be worried about, before turning her attention back to the witch who was making her way into the Ministry. As soon as Hermione had set eyes on her, she felt sick, remembering the horror that ensued the last time they had met. However it was not just revulsion she had felt. There had been something else, something darker. She opened her mind and gently sought after the darkness. The second she had nudged it she had known it was a mistake because the witch looked up in their direction. Despite being under the invisibility cloak, both Harry and Hermione automatically ducked down out of sight. A second later, Harry peered up over the ledge and out of the window.

"I don't know how to explain this... but she's wearing the locket - the Horcrux - I can hear it," Harry explained.

Hermione peered out of the window and squinted hard. Sure enough, there was a chain around the witch's neck. The witch was looking directly up at them now.

"Merlin's balls!" Hermione said quietly. "We need to get out of here!" she continued and she grabbed Ron and Harry's hand and apparated.

Hermione and the boys apparated five more times before they returned to their tent in the middle of Dean Forest, ensuring that anyone attempting to trace them would get lost. For good measure, Hermione had used the house elf apparition a couple of times as well because she knew that the Ministry would not think to even trace that.

In the tent Hermione paced back and forth as she turned over this new information in her mind. How could _she_ be a Whorecrux? Of all people, why did it have to be _her_? She could feel the panic rising in her as tears sprang to her eyes. Hermione focused on breathing and didn't notice Harry and Ron watching her concernedly.

"FUCK!" she yelled suddenly, and kicked a chair over. Ron and Harry looked at each other anxiously. They wanted to help but neither one of them wanted to be the ones to attract Hermione's attention when she was this wound up.

Hermione ignored them. She needed a plan. She needed to get to _her_, get the Horcrux and destroy the Whorecrux. She shivered and visibly paled at the thought, putting her hand out to steady herself on the table, and found Harry standing beside her.

"Hermione, talk to us," Harry pleaded. Hermione looked from him to Ron and back again. There was no way she could tell them about the Whorecruxes. Ron would call her a scarlet woman and Harry would think that she had betrayed him not only by being a Whorecrux but also by not telling him what was going on. It was at that point that she decided how she was going to tackle this.

Hermione took both of Harry's hands in her own, inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly, trying to calm her heartbeats. She looked Harry in the eyes. "You have to trust me," she told him firmly. Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Harry, there is no time for arguing! I need you to stay here and trust me - can you do that?" she begged this boy who was more than just a brother and a friend to her. Harry squared his shoulders and nodded reluctantly. Hermione considered him for a few long moments, there was stubble on his chin, dark circles under his eyes, and he seemed to have aged another few years even while she was looking at him. She lifted a hand to his face and softly stroked his cheek, feeling the prickle of his stubble below her hand. "Thank you," she told him, then without another word she walked out of the tent and disapparated.

Hermione reappeared in the Hogs Head and used the service at the bar to send an owl up to the castle before paying for the use of a room and leaving instructions with the bar keep to only allow Fleur access to the room and no one else.

Hermione went up to her room cast wards on the window and door. Finally satisfied that only Fleur could get in, she went into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She looked at the flow of steaming hot water longingly. She had time for a shower before Fleur got here, but felt a pang of guilt that the boys wouldn't get the same luxury. Then she shook her head and reminded herself that she practically had to bribe them with cauldron cakes to get them to have a wash at the best of times, so she peeled her clothes off, cast a cleaning spell on each of them, left them in a neatly folded pile on the side and stepped into the shower.

Bracing herself with her hands against the tiles of the shower, Hermione hung her head and let the hot spray wash over her, hoping it would wash away her fear. She had thought herself to have only been in the shower a moment when she felt arms wrap themselves around her and she let out a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to be held by Fleur. Neither of them said a word as Fleur peppered Hermione's shoulder with soft and tender kisses, holding her lovers body tightly against her own.

After some time, Fleur led Hermione out of the shower by her hand and wrapped a large fluffy towel around her. Sitting on the bed, Hermione watched as Fleur dried herself off and got dressed.

"I love you, Fleur," Hermione said quietly. Fleur looked up and smiled warmly at Hermione.

"Well zen I am very lucky indeed to be loved by someone so beautiful," Fleur replied teasingly, then sat on the bed beside Hermione. She brushed a wet strand of hair out of Hermione's face and swept it behind her ear. "So you have found another Whorecrux?" Fleur asked.

Hermione nodded, then took a deep breath, "Not only is she a Whorecrux but she is carrying a Horcrux on her, so that's twice the normal amount of dark magic." She voiced one of her fears out loud, studying Fleur's face for her reaction.

"Zat might be a problem," Fleur agreed, maintaining a neutral expression. Even her eyes didn't give anything away.

Hermione nodded slowly. "We need to go and deal with this as soon as possible. As we speak Harry and Ron are probably hatching a plan to go and steal the Horcrux from her. They have no idea about the other thing or the amount of danger they will be putting themselves in," she explained.

"Cherie, oo is eet?" Fleur asked. She could not figure out who it could be, to have Hermione so concerned.

Hermione got up off the bed, grabbing her clothes and pulling them on. Fleur sat patiently waiting for Hermione to drop the bombshell. Finally as she fastened up her jeans Hermione glanced up at her from under long lashes, brows drawn together in anxiety, and answered.

"Narcissa Malfoy."


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: Warning! Whorecrux destruction imminent so you know that means mature themes! *giggles immaturely* reviews make us happy!**

Chapter 29 An Enemy in the camp

"Narcissa Malfoy? As in ze ferret boy's mother?" Fleur spluttered incredulously.

Hermione nodded and sighed. "Yes, but please don't call him that. He is a complete tosser, of course, but he did not choose to get transfigured into a ferret and his personality is a result of his upbringing which we can't really blame him for," she babbled without taking a breath.

"Ma Petite Loutre, I know you too well - zis will not work!" Fleur said to Hermione in a stern tone.

Hermione had the good grace to look confused. "What won't work Fleur?" she asked innocently.

"Your feeble attempt to change ze subject by defending the moronic mishaps of Draco Malfoy!" Fleur said with a smile on her face that helped to take the harshness from her words. She paused for a moment to throw a pointed stare at Hermione, letting the younger witch know that she was not one to be trifled with.

Hermione sighed again and rolled her eyes. "Narcissa Malfoy: Queen Bitch of the Death Eaters, mother to Draco Malfoy... is a Whorecrux, yes." Hermione answered, her tone showing her displeasure at both Fleur's attitude and the situation.

Now that Fleur had her straight answer she wasn't entirely happy either. She sank down on the bed beside Hermione, "Zis iz not good," came her quiet response.

To Hermione the phrase was like a slap in the face. Fleur had always remained positive and encouraging; to see her reacting like this was devastating.

The younger witch took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Fleur, it gets worse..." Hermione admitted, thinking that she may as well get all the bad news out at once. "Her sister Bellatrix is the other Whorecrux." She could not even look at her lover. Her world started to swim as tears filled her eyes and she took another deep breath as she felt herself becoming lightheaded.

Fleur pulled Hermione into her arms. "Oh merde, ma petite loutre, zis is what you 'ave been trying to tell me for weeks now, oui?" she asked as she tenderly rocked Hermione.

Internally, Fleur was on the edge of an absolute meltdown. Narcissa Malfoy would be a challenge but Bellatrix Lestrange was pure evil and Fleur was determined to keep Hermione as far from her as possible.

Hermione nodded as she fought to control her emotions, albeit briefly - she had had a glimpse of Bellatrix's evil and she was not about to expose Fleur to that. Relaxing in Fleur's arms, Hermione made a conscious decision that she would take the first opportunity to deal with Bellatrix. Hopefully she could manage it somehow without Fleur.

"I zink... zat we should go up to ze castle and speak with Professor McGonagall," Fleur said carefully, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.

"Well I can't just walk in the front gates, I can't be seen, I'm supposed to be with Harry. I will have to go through the one-eyed witch's passage and meet you there," Hermione sighed but felt a wave of relief as she realised that the logical side of her brain had not taken a complete leave of absence. They packed up their belongings and, once Hermione had fought and lost a battle with her hair which was particularly unruly due to the fact that she had not brushed it immediately after her shower, they were ready to depart. They left the Hogs Head, pulling the hoods of their cloaks up to combat the weather as well as to hopefully remain anonymous, and headed down the street towards Honeydukes.

Outside the door to Honeydukes, the witches parted company; Fleur taking the street that would eventually lead to the castle and Hermione entering the sweetshop. She approached the counter where a man was waiting with a welcoming smile and removed her hood.

Ambrosius Flume, owner of Honeydukes and member of the Order of the Phoenix, gasped at the sight of her. "Miss Granger!" he started as he flicked his wand. The blinds in front of the door and window plummeted, like a seeker chasing a snitch, to obscure the view of anyone who might be trying to look in.

"Mr Flume, I am in urgent need of the passage," Hermione explained.

Ambrosius walked to the top of the stairs that led to the basement and indicated for Hermione to follow him. Of course Hermione knew the way already - she, Harry and Ron had sneaked through this passage several times under the invisibility cloak, but she was not about to admit to that so she gracefully followed him as he took the lead downstairs and then opened the hatch in the floor that had, up until seconds earlier, been concealed by a rug.

Hermione climbed into the tunnel and then turned to Ambrosius. "Thank you Mr Flume," she said gratefully but Ambrosius cut short whatever she was going to say by raising his hand.

"Take care Miss Granger. My wife and I are thinking of you, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley," he told her sincerely.

Hermione smiled at him with more cheerfulness than she felt. He had just unintentionally reminded her that the fate of the wizarding world rested on her shoulders. She raised her wand and muttered "lumos," and began to make the long journey along the passage as Ambrosius closed the hatch behind her.

Hermione reached the top of the stairs that led to the one eyed witch and listened, she could hear voices and tried to make out who they were. After a moment or two, she determined that it was Severus Snape and Rolanda Hooch, and they appeared to be talking about her.

"…dewy-eyed schoolgirl shagging her way through puberty in the name of the Order! There are already whispers that she is a whore going around the school!" Snape snarled.

"Don't give me that Severus, I remember you at her age. You were a horny little bugger and you weren't trying to save the Wizarding World, you were just vastly oversexed and every redhead that came near you got to feel the power of your 'wand'!" Hooch retorted.

"We aren't discussing my life, are we? Someone needs to get a reign on Granger stat. The Veela clearly has her under her thrall…" Snape sneered

"Oh pish, Severus, she is in love, and if love is the only way they can get through this, then I say good luck to them!" Hooch said obstinately. "She's nowhere near the whore you attempted to be in your day and I think you are jealous that they have an opportunity to fall in love and pursue it no matter what obstacles are thrown in their way!"

Sensing that blows were about to be exchanged, and that Snape would probably be pummelled into dust, Hermione cleared her throat, uttered the password and stepped out of the passage. "Professor Snape, Madam Hooch," she greeted them with a forced smile.

Snape looked her up and down and scowled tightly. "You're late, Granger," he spat.

"I do apologise Professor, I was too busy listening to a man I once respected calling me a whore!" Hermione retorted as she spun on her heel and walked towards the Headmistresses office where she assumed that Fleur would be waiting for her.

Though a few pointed glares passed between Hooch and Snape after this, nothing more was said. In fact when he did open his mouth, Hooch elbowed him casually but firmly in the ribs as a method of discouragement. Snape spluttered but held his tongue.

As they approached the entrance to Professor McGonagall's new office Hermione saw Fleur standing waiting for them. Hermione told her with a look that she was not happy and Fleur took this as a sigh not to greet her with her customary kiss but instead with a reassuring smile. Hermione did not return the greeting but took a deep breath and mentally gave herself a pep talk.

"You could have gone in, Fleur," she told her lover.

Fleur shook her head, "Non, ze phoenix said entry would not be allowed until we were all present," Fleur explained before turning to the phoenix statue and raising an eyebrow. "Now can we 'ave access, ze 'eadmistress is expecting us."

Hermione had never heard the phoenix speak, not even in Dumbledore's day, and today would apparently not be any different as the statue silently spun to reveal the staircase that led to the Headmistresses rooms. Hermione sighed and climbed the stairs, the rest of her party following close behind, when she reached the top she softly knocked on the door, however as soon as her hand connected with the wood of the door it swung open. Hermione stepped through the door and stopped in her tracks blocking the way for the other three, as she stared at the back of someone's head. It was in fact the last head she had expected to see in this office.

"Come in, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said to Hermione, and as she did so she got to her feet and walked over to her student. "It's good to see you," she explained pulling the young girl into a hug.

Hermione hugged her back and was very much aware that the Professor was now giving her a thorough once over. Hermione finally dropped her gaze from the back of the visitor's head and looked at Professor McGonagall firmly. "I'm fine Professor," she reassured as she turned to Fleur who had just made it into the room behind Snape and Hooch.

Fleur stepped beside her lover, slipping her hand in Hermione's, squeezing reassuringly. Hermione was not reassured and, while holding Fleur's hand withdrew her wand and pointed it at the person sitting calmly with her back to her.

"Although I must say, Professor McGonagall, I am not sure I like the company you are keeping these days," Hermione stated as she stood in front of none other than Narcissa Malfoy.

To her credit, Narcissa did not flinch but merely lifted her gaze to meet Hermione's. She held her face neutral as she calmly waited to see what the witch would do.

"MISS GRANGER!" McGonagall shrieked. "Lower your wand this instant!"

Hermione instinctively lowered her wand and blushed. She did not however put it away. Narcissa leaned forward, picked up the cup and saucer in front of her and calmly took a sip of tea.

Professor McGongall and Madam Hooch came around and took seats on either side of Narcissa and with a gesture the Professor indicated that Hermione and Fleur should do the same on the couch opposite. As the two younger witches sat, Hermione not taking her gaze from Narcissa for a moment, Winky the house elf appeared and served up more tea.

Snape had gone even more pale than his normal sallow skinned complexion but as soon as Hermione noticed this Snape coughed, the action instantly returning a hint of colour to his cheeks.

Unfortunately it also drew Narcissa's attention to him. "Severus," she said in acknowledgement of his presence, letting him know that any thoughts he may have had about sneaking out had now been quashed.

Snape bowed his head in Narcissa's direction. "Mrs Malfoy," he addressed her formally, giving nothing away, although his mind was reeling. Why was she here and would she - could she - use this meeting against him somehow?

"Miss Granger, Mrs Malfoy is here at Hogwarts as a concerned parent. She arrived moments before Miss Delacour arrived, stating that she needed to speak with you and that it was extremely urgent," McGonagall explained, her eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement.

Hermione released Fleur's hand and leaned forward on the couch. "You already know, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes Miss Granger, I have always known, as has Bellatrix." Hermione slumped back on the couch, feeling as though a great weight was suddenly pressing down on her. "The question is, can you help me?" Narcissa asked, her voice pleading. Suddenly this strong woman seemed very vulnerable and certainly a lot less like a bitch than Hermione remembered.

"You- you don't mean to tell me… that you're going to-" Hooch spluttered, at a loss for words for one of the very few times in her life, "that she's a…she's a…" She looked at Minerva for help. Professor McGonagall was equally as stunned, while Snape in the background had finally caught on and simply let out a laugh.

It was a hearty laugh, thick and volumous, as though it came from his very toes, almost as if it had been stifled for years and suddenly let loose its chain and escaped. Snape doubled over as the laughter burst forth from him, bringing with it tears that streamed down his face as he gulped air.

"SEVERUS! Get a hold of yourself man! This is not the time for...for hilarity!" McGonagall scolded in the voice she used with first years who were being immature.

"I'm sorry, Minerva," Snape retorted between gasps, "it's just so absurd - prim and proper Narcissa Malfoy, pureblood queen, and the mudblood she detests…" he left the sentence incomplete as his hysterical laughter continued.

Hermione winced at the word, but it was Fleur who was on her feet and at Snape's side before anyone had seen her move, wand poised for the strike. "Professor, I will only tell you zis once. Do not use zis term in front of me ever again!" Fleur angrily hissed at him but even her wand tip drilling into the side of his neck could not fully halt his giggles. Hermione got to her feet and walked over to her Professor, leaning down she whispered in his ear, "you just pissed off my girlfriend and she is just looking for a reason to get rid of some pent up energy so I suggest you compose yourself or get the fuck out of this office before I tell her, and the Headmistress, what you called me in the corridor." She had kept her voice low so that no one could hear her and the threat had the desired effect.

Snape straightened up, face smoothing into his usual sneer as he exhaled. "Miss Granger, I meant no disrespect. You seem to have this situation in hand with your…unique... skillset... and so I will take my leave." And with that, Severus Snape turned and walked out the room closing the door behind him.

Hermione placed her hand on Fleur's arm, instantly calming her and pulled her over to the couch. She looked up at Professor McGonagall, "Professor, Fleur and I need to, erm, to talk with Mrs Malfoy in private."

Minerva smiled at Hermione and nodded before a look of horror flashed across her face. "Miss Granger, I would prefer it if you did not 'talk' to Mrs Malfoy in my office!" she said quickly and an equal look of repulsion flashed across Hermione's face.

"NO! No, of course not." Hermione said quickly.

It was Hooch's turn to giggle through the awkward silence that followed this exchange. "Have a…." she gasped between laughs, "have a biscuit, Minerva!" she managed to get out, holding the box out, before sobering quickly at the look on McGonagall's face. She covered quickly by calling for Winky.

The house elf popped into the room and looked at Hooch expectantly but it was Hermione who spoke. "Winky, would you be so kind as to apparate myself, Fleur and Mrs Malfoy to Fleur's quarters?" She looked at Narcissa and then to Fleur. "It is probably best if none of us are seen," she explained.

Winky nodded and held out her hands, which Hermione and Narcissa took, Fleur holding on to Hermione's hand. With a sharp crack, the Headmistresses office disappeared and seconds later the three witches and Winky reappeared in Fleur's quarters. "Will there be anything else, Miss Granger?" Winky asked eagerly.

Before Hermione could answer, however, Narcissa broke in, "I think Fire Whiskey all round would not be a mistake…" It had been almost said under her breath but Winky snapped her fingers and a bottle and three glasses appeared on the table. Seeing that there were no more requests, the house elf left them to it.

The three witches stood looking at each other for a moment. Fleur paced around Narcissa like a lion circling prey, she was moving slowly and carefully but she was certain not to take her eyes from her. Narcissa stood straight up, gloved hands clasped in front of her; she had locked eyes with Hermione and was waiting politely. Hermione stared at Narcissa with a blank expression. On the outside she was calm but her brain was screaming at her to run, that she was in danger.

"May I?" Narcissa asked as she indicated the fire whiskey. Hermione looked to Fleur, then the bottle and then back to Narcissa.

"Let me, Mrs Malfoy - um, please take a seat." Hermione answered her as she walked over to the bottle, unstoppered it and poured three generous glasses of the amber nectar, handing one to Narcissa and leaving Fleur's on the table.

Narcissa took her leather gloves off, one finger at a time and set them on the table. She unbuttoned her long green overcoat and delicately placed it over the back of the couch. Picking up the offered glass she sat down, crossing her legs and leaned back. She was the picture of refinement and relaxation, which only served to annoy Fleur and unsettle Hermione even further. Narcissa delicately sipped her drink and sat silently waiting. Fleur was standing behind Narcissa trying to have a complete conversation with Hermione using only her eyebrows, which unfortunately was totally unsuccessful.

"Ahem," Narcissa cleared her throat. "I do not have leave to be away for more than a couple of hours, we are going to have to speed this up a little. Although I am not entirely sure what 'this' is." She indicated vaguely towards Hermione as she spoke. It was as though she did not register the fact that Fleur was in the room.

"Why don't we start wiz what you do know, Mrs Malfoy?" Fleur said, oblivious to the fact that Narcissa was ignoring her presence.

Narcissa glanced behind her then swigged the rest of the drink in her hand. Hermione, who had also emptied her glass went over and refilled both glasses.

"I know that there is a piece of the Dark Lord's soul intermingled with my soul. It is my understating that the term used to describe such things is Whorecrux," Narcissa explained as she continued to hold Hermione's gaze. "What I do not know is how to remove it. But it needs to come out - it is...affecting me... in ways I do not like."

Hermione was shocked. It was having an 'effect' on Narcissa? Was it going to have an effect on her too? "What sort of effect?" she asked nervously and both older witches in the room caught the strain in her voice.

"You are also a Whorecrux, this is why you are concerned?" Narcissa asked then answering her own question she continued thoughtfully, "Yes, I can practically taste it on you. Well, you have no need to worry. The effects did not start for years. But I need it out, now, so how do we do that?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione gulped down another glass of fire whiskey and looked at Fleur, who came around beside Hermione and took her own glass sipping her first taste of the drink.

"Eet involves legilimency, blood magic and sex magic," Fleur said, her voice controlled and quiet.

Hermione dropped her gaze to the floor, as Narcissa grinned wickedly. "I see... Which one of you do I get to do?" she asked.

Fleur and Hermione looked at each other. "Well we usually... um," Hermione could not finish her sentence but the flush creeping up her face told Narcissa everything she needed to hear.

"I see," Narcissa replied, and the look in her eyes grew more predatory as she got up off the couch and strode towards Hermione, her plush green dress flowing around her.

Fleur let a low growl out, and stepped between Narcissa and Hermione. Narcissa laughed, "Easy there Veela," Narcissa warned, "I am guessing you two work together because two are needed, but I can also see that she needs a little...encouragement, whereas you do not." When she finished she leaned forward and kissed Hermione on the cheek, leaving her blood red lipstick on her cheek. Hermione stiffened and but Narcissa leaned forward and whispered in Hermione's ear. "Follow me."

Narcissa pulled away, turned and strode towards the bedroom, unzipping her dress and slowly stepping out of it. She looked over her shoulder, smiling wickedly in the direction of the two witches as she stood in her Slytherin green heels, stockings, suspenders and lace bra. Narcissa let out a naughty little giggle as she dropped her bra on the floor and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Fuck," Fleur said under her breath. "I zink we are in trouble," she told Hermione, who was likewise gaping towards the open door.

"Yeah, I think we are," Hermione answered. Fleur took Hermione's hand and pulled her into the bedroom, as soon as they were through the door Narcissa pounced on them, devouring Fleur's lips as she removed her clothes, then Narcissa pulled away from Fleur and reached out and took Hermione's hand, leading her over to the bed. Hermione, uncertain of what to do, let Narcissa take the lead.

Narcissa smiled at Hermione as she undressed her, once she had Hermione naked she pushed her down on the bed. "Stay," Naricssa ordered and Hermione obediently did not move. Narcissa moved back over to Fleur and took her hand pulling her over to the bed. "Sit." Narcissa ordered, Fleur complied and sat on the edge of the bed.

The Slytherin reached up behind her and loosed her hair, letting it sweep past her shoulders as she looked at Fleur through her lashes then she turned her back to Fleur. "Remove my suspenders and stockings," she ordered.

Fleur licked her lips in anticipation as she reached up and stroked the back of Narcissa's legs with the tips of her fingers before slipping her thumb behind the stopper on the left and sliding up, loosening the hook free from the stocking. As Fleur did this, Narcissa let out a moan, awaiting the right hand suspender to get the same release. Hermione swallowed as she watched her lover unclip the suspenders, then as she had anticipated, Fleur placed a hand on each of Narcissa's hips and turned her around. Fleur leaned forward her intention being to places kisses on Narcissa's stomach, but Narcissa stopped her with one finger to the forehead.

"Follow my instructions only," Narcissa hissed playfully and it was Fleur's turn to swallow as she reached up and unhooked the suspenders in front. Narcissa lifted her foot up so that the flat of her shoe was resting on Fleur's knee, the heel lightly pressing into her thigh. From this movement, Fleur could see a dark patch on Narcissa's panties and her levels of desire spiked. Suddenly Fleur wanted to reach out and touch Narcissa's most intimate parts.

As though she could read Fleur's mind, Narcissa said, "just remove the stocking and shoe." Fleur gently lifted Narcissa's foot and removed the shoe, discarding it on the floor before hooking her fingers into the lip of the stocking and deftly rolling it off Narcissa's leg. Fleur had every intention of tossing the stocking on the floor but Narcissa held her hand out expectantly. The French witch did not understand why, but placed the stocking in Narcissa's waiting hand before repeating the process with her other leg. She placed the second stocking in Narcissa's hand.

Fleur reached around and unhooked the suspender belt and handed this to the waiting witch. Narcissa took the garments and turned to Hermione who had turned on her side to watch the scene. "Naughty Miss Granger, I told you not to move," Narcissa playfully scolded the younger witch, who resumed the position on her back quickly, though not without a small smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Narcissa slipped off her green silk panties and straddled Hermione on the bed. She looped the panties around Hermione's wrists then used the suspender belt to secure the younger witch's now bound hands to the headboard. Hermione did not struggle, though her eyes widened as her fear made the entire experience a lot more enjoyable. Once done, Narcissa grabbed Hermione's wand and placed it in one of her hands, she leaned over and whispered in her ear, "your hands will be loose enough that when you need to use the wand you will be able to," then she licked and kissed her way down to Hermione's breasts, taking first one nipple in her mouth and then the other, biting just a little too hard eliciting a squeal from the young witch on the bed, but not one of discomfort. Narcissa smiled as she realised she would be able to use her teeth and began to bite Hermione's breasts and roll her nipples between her teeth.

Narcissa crawled off the bed reluctantly, then used the stockings to secure each of Hermione's legs to the bed so that she was spread wide. The Slytherin then kissed and nibbled the inside of Hermione's thighs as the younger with began to pant in anticipation. Hermione let out a gasp as Narcissa used one finger to stroke her clit, the older witch smiled deliciously as she continued her ministrations but looked back at Fleur winking.

Fleur could not contain herself any longer, licking her lips as she crawled up the bed, leaning over and tenderly kissed her, slipping her tongue into her mouth. Narcissa giggled as she enjoyed the view, Hermione straining against the restraints and Fleur leaning over, kissing her passionately while her hands were roaming on Hermione's chest.

The Slytherin lived up to her house and slipped two fingers inside of Hermione who writhed in response, she thrust inside her steady and hard giving the youngest witch on the bed no chance for recovery as she ploughed her through her first orgasm and close to her second one.

As soon as Gryffindor was on the edge Narcissa pulled out and Hermione whimpered pulling away from Fleur who, caught up in the moment, let her dissatisfaction known. "Ce qui la baise!"

Narcissa winked at Fleur as she crawled up Hermione's body and captured the blonde's lips, pulling her teeth across Fleur's already swollen bottom lip as she pulled away. "Now get off the bed and put those lovely fingers somewhere useful!" she hissed at Fleur and without waiting for a response she crawled of the end of the bed, leant over it and firmly pressed her tongue into Hermione, licking as thoroughly as she could before dragging her tongue up to Hermione's love button.

The groans of delight that Narcissa had brought forth from Hermione's mouth excited the older witch but not as much as Fleur, who had manoeuvred behind Narcissa and thrust her fingers into her. Hermione bucked as fingers also entered her as the groans falling from Narcissa reverberated through her sensitive nub and spread throughout her body. Hermione cried out, "Sweet Circe's nipples!" however Narcissa did not stop. She did however slow down losing concentration as Fleur drove into her mercilessly with three fingers, her pinkie stroking Narcissa's clit.

Hermione's eyes rolled back as she came hard against Narcissa, she relaxed as much as she could in the restraints and quivered with every moan that left Narcissa's lips. Fleur smiled at the sight of Hermione collapsed in the arms of orgasmic ecstasy and it spurred her on harder with Narcissa who was so close to orgasm she was dizzy but continued to try and hold out. Fleur gently pressed a finger from her unoccupied hand into Narcissa's puckered hole, this simple motion made Narcissa gasp in pleasure.

Fleur glanced up at Hermione who had slipped her hands out of the restraints and had already opened a wound on one and was pressing the blood against Narcissa's head while she wordlessly cast 'legilimens' she tried to sift through Narcissa's mind but found many closed doors blocking her path. Hermione began to search frantically within the Slytherin's well protected mind to find what she was looking for. Fleur knew that Narcissa was very very close, "come on!" she encouraged Hermione frantically, but Hermione had got a nudge in the right direction and found that darkness. Isolating the darkness, she made eye contact with Fleur who pushed Narcissa to climax. The older witch cried out joyfully, and with her cry out came the darkness as it vacated Narcissa's body where it had been held many years. Fleur grabbed her wand and cast the blood magic spell which should have destroyed the darkness immediately.

Hermione shuddered against the leg restraints but her eyes widened as the darkness escaped from Narcissa's every orifice and filled up the room. Fleur caught Narcissa's body and placed her gently on the bed before spinning, wand held out to face the darkness. She cut her own palm and cast the blood magic spell again, spraying the blood over both Narcissa and the darkness which was moving quickly towards Hermione. This time the spell was successful and the darkness dissipated with an angry hiss.

Fleur slumped down on the end of the bed and tired to breath as her heart pounded at the fear of Hermione being consumed by more darkness.

"Fleur, my legs," Hermione said as she struggled to get up and free herself.

Narcissa groaned and sat up, smiling at Fleur and then Hermione. "My dears, you were both wonderful," she said as she took her wand and cast a cleaning spell on herself, then summoned her clothes and got dressed. Hermione and Fleur sat stunned.

Narcissa summoned her hair pins and swiftly pulled her hair up, she looked over her shoulder and smiled, then she slipped her heels on and headed over to the bed. Taking Fleur's hand, she used her wand to heal the cut before raising the hand to her lips and kissing it softly. Narcissa then turned to Hermione, and healed the young witches hand and then raised it to her lips and kissed it, but this time instead of dropping the hand she pulled her to her feet and leant next to her ear, "Miss Granger, you were delightful and I owe you one, when it comes to my sister I will help you if I can," she told her, "also your lover needs seeing too." Narcissa finished with a wicked smile.

Hermione nodded, smiling back and with that Narcissa turned and strode out the bedroom.

"Damn," Hermione said and she got up and ran to the door, "Narcissa, the Horcrux?" she called after her.

Narcissa turned to Hermione as she reached into her coat pocket and set the necklace on the table before slipping her overcoat on, winking and leaving the quarters.

Hermione turned back and was suddenly wrapped in Fleur. She smiled as Fleur growled "mine" hungrily, and bit her ear teasingly, pushing her lover back towards the bed.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN I don't normally do this but parts of this chapter are particularly dark, nasty and evil and I am sure I am going straight to hell.**

**The first part is FD/HG Fluff, after that it gets pretty heavy (like yo momma). If you are triggered easily (also like yo momma) or are just not into the sort of things that Bellatrix might do (to yo momma) then when you see a sentence in bold writing skip to the end and read AN 2 to find out in 73 nice non graphic words what happened (to yo momma) **

**Oh yeah there is a little Blackcest too – but it's all for the greater good ;o)**

**Chapter 30 Karma**

Fleur had Hermione pinned to the bed and was kissing her lover fiercely, but then she remembered Narcissa's words. Fleur needed 'seeing to.' Fleur was, by far, stronger than Hermione, but the brunette witch was determined. Hermione bit down on Fleur's lip causing her to pull back slightly. As she did so, Hermione wrapped her legs around Fleur and used the momentum to flip both witches over, pinning the Veela to the bed with Hermione straddling her. Fleur's tongue flicked out to catch the drop of blood that was oozing from her lip as Hermione leaned down to bite and nibble Fleur's neck.

"Yours," she whispered into Fleur's ear, "only yours." With that declaration, Hermione moved one knee between Fleur's legs, encouraging her to allow her access to where they both desired her to be. Fleur opened her legs wide gladly.

Hermione reached down with her hand and slipped it between Fleur's folds. The jealousy burning in Fleur's eyes quickly turned to lust as she thrust her hips up towards Hermione, forcing her lover's fingers deep within her. Hermione steadied herself with her free hand against the mattress as her lovers hand slipped between her own legs, she ground onto Fleur's hand with each thrust of her fingers inside of Fleur. Fleur held on to Hermione's hip, nails digging in as she thrust her own hips meeting each of her lover's passionate intrusions.

Hermione wanted to lavish Fleur's body with gentle kisses and tender touches, but she knew that Fleur needed to be taken; she needed Hermione to show her that she was only hers and so she redoubled her efforts, pounding into Fleur mercilessly until all Fleur could do was cry out Hermione's name at the crest of each wave.

Both of them were panting heavily. Sweat coated their lithe bodies. Fleur arched her back in an attempt to get Hermione even deeper inside her. Her chest heaving, Fleur thrust herself up into a sitting position, so that she could kiss Hermione as her inner walls tightened and she rolled over into ecstasy. Fleur sank back onto the bed and closed her eyes for a moment trying to catch her breath. Hermione collapsed on the bed beside her and stared at Fleur, who looked thoroughly shagged and absolutely gorgeous. Recovering quickly, Fleur pulled Hermione close to her, wanting that skin to skin contact for she knew Hermione would need to leave soon and she wanted to hold onto her lover as long as possible. She lightly stroked Hermione's side with the tips of her fingers, secretly hoping that the action would lull her to sleep.

A few moments later Hermione sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, Fleur turned on her side and reached out taking Hermione's hand and gently trying to pull her back, "Stay wiz me I 'ave a bad feeling," she told her.

Hermione sighed and let Fleur pull her back into her arms. "Please Fleur, don't make this any harder for me than it already is, you know what's at stake here, you know I have to go," Hermione pleaded with Fleur - she did not think she could resist if Fleur asked her to stay again.

Fleur sighed heavily, she knew what Hermione was saying but she wanted her here, what she had said wasn't a lie, she had a bad feeling, "Zen let me come," Fleur said.

Hermione pulled away from her in annoyance. Why was she picking a fight now? Hermione got to her feet and stepped into the shower, letting the steam calm her temper. When she was clean Hermione stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and went back into the bedroom to pick clothes to wear. Fleur was laying on her stomach, head turned away from the bathroom. Hermione ignored her and pulled some clean underwear, shirt and jeans out of her drawer, then got dressed. She could hear Fleur crying and it made her stomach twist. As she pulled her t-shirt on Hermione went over and sat on the edge of the bed with one knee tucked underneath her, reaching out she placed her hand on Fleur's back and soothingly rubbed in small circles.

"Please don't cry, darling," she said quietly fighting back her own tears.

Fleur turned to face Hermione, eyes swollen and red, Hermione reached over and swept the hair from her lovers face tenderly. Fleur caught her hand and pulled it to her lips kissing the palm in an intimate gesture. Hermione knew it was as close to an apology as she was going to get from the proud French witch and flashed an encouraging smile at Fleur. Hermione used her thumb to wipe tears away from Fleur's face then leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

Hermione got up from the bed and pulled a blanket over Fleur. "Get some sleep, I will be back before you know it." she told her, then walked over to the closet and took one of Fleur's jumpers and pulled it on.

"Mine!" Fleur yelled from the bed.

"Yes, well spotted. You can peel it off me when I return." Hermione said playfully. Fleur got up from the bed, blanket wrapped around her, and wandered over to Hermione.

"Zis is all mine," she said indicating at Hermione in general, "and needs to be returned in one piece or else zere will be trouble, Miss Granger," Fleur said in her best imitation of Professor McGonagall's stern voice.

Hermione grinned. "Stop worrying! What could possibly happen?" she said as she retrieved the Horcrux from the floor where she had dropped it and started to look around for her wand.

"'Ermione, 'Arry Potter is an immature little school boy 'oo will rush into zings wizout zinking first," Fleur warned.

"Which is one of the reasons I will be with him, thinking things through and stopping him from doing something stupid. I promise you Fleur, I will be extra careful." Hermione lifted an item of clothing off the floor and found her wand, slipping it into her sleeve she turned to say goodbye to Fleur and came face to face with the witch.

"I meant it when I said I 'ad a bad feeling. Zis is not right. We should be togezzer," Fleur told Hermione steadily.

"I promise Fleur, I will be careful," Hermione said and she sealed her promise with a goodbye kiss.

As their lips separated Fleur leaned her forehead against Hermione's, "Alright, but zere iz going to be 'ell to pay wen you get back," Fleur said playfully, though she sounded sad.

Hermione smiled, "Is that a promise?" she asked.

"Oui, et is." Fleur said petulantly.

Hermione left Fleur in her quarters. She could already feel the burn of the Horcrux in her pocket, trying to make her abandon her mission, trying to convince her to give up on Harry and Ron. She ignored the swelling darkness within her and swung by the Headmistresses office, knocking on the door and trying to ignore the fact that it was close to 2am.

The door opened and, to Hermione's surprise, a very drunk Madam Hooch was on the other side in a very sexy black silk slip with some sort of potion or possibly a cocktail in her hand.

"Sorry Granger," Hooch drawled, looking highly amused at Hermione's shell-shocked expression. "Minnie's a bit erm, tied up if you know what I mean," she continued, and winked.

"ROLANDA!" Hermione heard Professor McGonagall yelling angrily. "ROLANDA! YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm... sorry to...er... disturb you Madame Hooch," Hermione stated, horrified at the sight before her.

"Oh not to worry dear," Hooch said, taking a relaxed sip of her cocktail and ignoring the yells from the room behind her. "Get Mrs Malfoy sorted, did you? Yes... I bet you gave her a right seeing-to," Hooch said with a snort.

"Yes indeed. Well. Ahem. I was just wondering if I could borrow the sword of Gryffindor?" Hermione said calmly as though this conversation was being held over the dinner table and not, as she suspected, mere feet away from her partially-clothed and otherwise occupied Head of House.

"Minnie, Hermione wants to borrow the sword of Gryffindor. You're not using it, are you?" Hooch called back.

"NO I AM NOT CURRENTLY USING THE BLOODY SWORD OF GRYFFINDOR, ROLANDA!" Professor McGonagall called back. Hooch raised an eyebrow and after a moment McGonagall added, in a slightly less enraged tone, "Albus bought me a fancy letter opener I could use instead. She's not going to pawn it, is she?"

Hooch raised an eyebrow at Hermione and the young witch shook her head in confirmation. Hooch disappeared into the room. She reappeared seconds later and handed the sword to Hermione, then turned to close the door. Apparently thinking better of it, she paused midway and said to Hermione, "Have you checked in case I'm a Whorecrux?"

"ROLANDA HOOCH!" McGonagall's voice came booming through the doorway.

Hooch grimaced. "Oops, time to go poke the Lion," she said with a wink, "Now don't run with that sword you will take someone's eye out you know!" and then she shut the door and left Hermione standing there, unsure whether to laugh or cry, or both,

When she returned to the tent, Ron was asleep and Harry was unsuccessfully using a deck of exploding snap cards to build a pyramid.

"Think fast," Hermione said then tossed him the locket, glad to be rid of it.

With his Seekers instinct's Harry caught the locket, "Wow this is evil," he stated.

"Yeah it's only been on me for about 20 minutes but I felt its pull," Hermione confirmed, "Here you will need this to destroy it," she handed him the sword of Gryffindor.

"How did you get this?" Harry exclaimed but Hermione just shrugged her shoulders. Harry woke up Ron and the two of them took the locket outside the tent with the sword. Hermione had no interest in seeing the Horcrux destroyed, she was exhausted and just wanted to rest, her body ached from her earlier activities with Fleur and Narcissa, so she climber into her bunk, pulled the covers over her and lay down to sleep.

**Hermione awoke with a hand covering her face**, her first instinct was to bite the hand and when she did, the hand was pulled away. Hermione was dragged from her bed, it was dark and she could not see, fear coursed through her like the very blood in her veins. Outside the tent she could hear Ron and Harry shouting and being beaten, she froze, they were caught.

Two rough hands pulled her to her feet then ran all over her body, she jumped trying to get away, not wanting to be touched by this foul smelling animal.

"Easy there princess, wouldn't want a scratch now would we?" his horrible voice sounded, she looked up at his face and tried to force her eyes to adjust to the dark, the face she saw grinning back was Fenrir Greyback.

All Hermione could think was that Fleur was going to kill her as she was dragged outside the tent and thrown on the ground. Ron tried to get to her but was kicked out of the way. Hermione scrambled to her feet and tried to get to Ron to see if he was ok, she was punched in the face for her efforts. Hermione's world swam as she sank to the forest floor and darkness swallowed her.

When she came around she was in someone's arms, from the smell it could only be Greyback, she started to struggle, desperate to get away from him. Greyback dropped her in surprise; Hermione landed badly but managed to crawl away from him to a nearby wall. It was then that she had a chance to look around; clearly the incarcerous spell had been cast on Harry and Ron. She was in some sort of banquet hall, the tiles on the floor beneath her were cold and hard, but she used that to ground herself as she tried to swim through her foggy brain.

Someone was laughing, a real witches cackle, she turned to the noise and saw Bellatrix Lestrange pointing at her. Hermione tried to stifle a giggle at her own pun, but couldn't.

"Cissy, look!" Bellatrix exclaimed excitedly. "This one's all feisty and bruised and bloody, just the way I like them,"

Hermione looked up at the evil witch, there was nowhere for her to go, no escape. Greyback pulled her to her feet roughly by the arm, a wave of nausea took hold of her and Hermione promptly vomited on Greyback's feet. He let her go in shock and disgust and she fell to the floor again on the same hip as before, she let out a yelp of pain and then used the wall to prop herself up.

"You hit her too hard, idiot," Bellatrix screeched at Greyback.

"She bit me!" He protested.

"Did she now?" Bellatrix said, intrigued, "I like a biter," her deviousness was laid thickly in her tone. "You lot get out," Bellatrix shouted at Greyback and his men, "Cissy, make her well so I can play, maybe _she_ knows why boy wonder was in my vault! Lucius put the boys in the cellar!" she ordered and to Hermione's surprise there was a flurry of activity.

Narcissa approached Hermione, her wand draw, "Don't speak to me, in fact don't even look at me," the older witch whispered urgently at Hermione, "You have to understand, my top priority here is Draco," she explained and her eyes flicked to her son, Hermione followed her gaze and she thought he looked like he was going to throw up too. Narcissa clicked her fingers and a house elf appeared with a potion, she handed it to Hermione, "I will help you if I can, though at this juncture it looks unlikely, you were foolish to get caught, drink this it will take the nausea away."

Hermione looked dubiously at the potion, "Do you think I'm an idiot?" she hissed at Narcissa.

"Actually yes, if I wanted you dead you would be, though by the end of tonight you are going to wish you were." Narcissa said through gritted teeth, "Drink it, you have a concussion, or shall I imperious you and make you drink it!"

Hermione took the potion and drank it, she felt instantly better, the fog in her brain was lifted, her pounding headache gone and though she still felt sick, she knew that was more fear than the concussion Narcissa said she had.

"How's Muddy doing Cissy?" Bellatrix asked.

"She is well enough to play Bellatrix," Narcissa said and she walked away from Hermione as Bellatrix danced towards Hermione gleefully. Narcissa approached Draco and used a hand on his shoulder to steer him towards the doorway.

"Going somewhere Cissy?" Bella asked.

Narcissa froze and Draco with her, "I didn't think you would want to share Bella," she told Bellatrix.

"No I don't, but you can watch, I might even let Draco take a turn, when I'm done, make him a man." The raven haired witch said as she turned to Hermione a glint of lunacy in her eye.

Hermione looked over at Draco, given the way he had been sneaking around with Justin Finch-Fletchley recently she imagined the idea of them having sex repulsed him just as much as it did her.

"As you wish Bellatrix," Narcissa said obediently and she steered Draco into a chair in the far corner of the room.

Bellatrix turned her attention back to Hermione, she stepped up against her, trapping her against the wall, "Now Muddy, why was boy wonder in my vault?" she whispered into Hermione's ear.

"I...I...He wasn't," she stuttered.

Bellatrix smiled, as though she had hoped for this answer, "DON'T LIE TO ME!" Bellatrix screamed in Hermione's face, making the young witch jump, though she was determined not to scream.

"I'm not lying, you're crazy" Hermione said defiantly.

"CRUCIO!" Bellatrix shrieked as she pointed her wand at Hermione. The brunette dropped to the floor, writhing in pain, she felt as though every bone in her body was being broken and then mended by skelegrow, but she held back her scream and prayed the crazy woman would stop.

Bellatrix ceased the spell on Hermione and walked over to her, kicking her onto her back, "Alright there Muddy?" she asked though she did not sound the least bit concerned. She stepped over Hermione's body and squatted down on top of her, pulling out a knife as she did so.

"Pity, I wanted to hear you scream..." her wistful tone revealing her nonchalance. Hermione felt a trickle of blood ooze from her nose and she dared not move as every millimetre of her body ached. Bellatrix suddenly pinned her arm to the floor and began cutting on her, Hermione could not contain her scream this the obsidian blade sliced through her skin.

Bellatrix laughed manically, "That's it Muddy, I am going to teach you your place!" Bellatrix declared as she showed Hermione that she had carved the word 'Mudblood' into her arm. Hermione slowly turned her head away which angered Bellatrix.

The Death Eater sprung to her feet, "CRUCIO!" she screamed as she held Hermione under the spell, her rage over riding her reasoning. Hermione felt herself drifting in her mind, she could hear herself screaming but could do nothing to stop herself from drifting as the pain overwhelmed her.

"Bella," Narcissa called over to her, "You don't want her going away like the Longbottom's, you want her to experience your game don't you?" she warned.

Bellatrix broke the spell off, "You are right Cissy," she said as she straddled Hermione, leaning over and, almost tenderly, kissing Hermione's face, "Come back Muddy, come back and play," Bellatrix sang in between kisses. Hermione felt herself pulling back to her body, the pain was instantly felt and tears streamed from her eyes.

"That's it Muddy," Bellatrix said happily, then she took her dagger and cut Hermione's cheek from below her eye to her jaw line. Hermione screamed and Bellatrix cackled as the blood ran in lines from the cut. Hermione forced herself to stop screaming and tried to struggle against Bellatrix, who just laughed at her efforts.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Ron shouted. Bellatrix got up and spun around.

Hermione could hear the sounds of a duelling going on but she found she could barely move, she lifted her arm up to look at it and saw the cuts that formed the word 'Mudblood' were set on a background of bruises.

There were a lot of shouts and hex's flying about but Hermione could not wrap her brain around what was happening at all, she was shaking and could not bring herself to move, so tired, she just wanted to drift off to sleep. Bellatrix, who was surprisingly strong for her size, dragged her to her feet but Hermione couldn't hold herself up so she sort of leant limply against her. Hermione did not even register the blade against her throat.

"Stop it, or we will see how muddy her blood really is!" Bellatrix announced to the room.

Hermione saw that the boys were afraid, why were they afraid? She just could not understand what was happening at all. Bellatrix saw Narcissa looking up and followed her sister's line of sight. Seeing a house elf unscrewing the chandelier, Bellatrix pulled Hermione back, the knife cutting into her throat.

Narcissa looked on in horror as her exquisite banquet hall chandelier plummeted to the floor, Bellatrix shielded herself from the many shards by crouching behind Hermione and Dobby sprang to Harry and Ron and apparated them away from Malfoy Manner. Narcissa herded Lucius and Draco out of the room so that she could tend to cuts and wounds they had received either from the duelling or the falling chandelier, which left Hermione as the only outlet for Bellatrix's rage.

Hermione was thrown to the floor as Bellatrix roared in outrage, kicking Hermione over and over until the young witch stopped screaming and simply did her best to pull her battered and aching body into a ball to try to protect herself. Bellatrix grabbed Hermione's hair and pulled her across the room away from the debris of the chandelier and screamed for Narcissa as Hermione tried to lay still and focus on breathing.

Narcissa entered the room and looked questioningly at Bellatrix, "she's broken," Bellatrix wailed, stomping her foot on the ground like a three year old having a tantrum.

Narcissa knelt down to examine Hermione, waving her wand at the curled up witch on the floor, Hermione flinched unnecessarily. It was clear that Hermione was struggling to breathe, so Narcissa silently apologised and removed Hermione's jumper, t-shirt and bra with a flick of her wand, instantly the problem was visible by a dark purplish bruise that was spreading on Hermione's side.

"Bellatrix, you broke her ribs," Narcissa said with a hint of exasperation and then with another flick of her wand she fixed the broken ribs.

Hermione regained control of her breathing and also noticed that whatever Narcissa had done, had dulled a lot of her pain.

Bellatrix pushed Hermione onto her back again and straddled her thighs, leaning over she used the tip of her blade to draw patterns on Hermione's stomach. Panic began to set in with Hermione as she considered the fact that Bella would cut on her until she bled out, she desperately searched her brain for an escape plan.

"Do you think she is a virgin Cissy?" Bellatrix asked as though Hermione were not right below her.

Narcissa snorted at the statement then realised her mistake, "Draco tells me she is shagging that half breed Transfiguration tutor," Narcissa said quickly trying to cover her mistake.

"Is that right Dearie?" Bellatrix asked Hermione

"Yes," Hermione answered, suddenly she saw her escape route as she thrust her hips upwards, "why? Did you want a turn?" Hermione said with all the sultriness she could muster.

"With a mudblood?" Bellatrix screeched in disgust, but she didn't move and something told Hermione that she was protesting a little too much.

"No Bellatrix, she is just a toy, look at those pert young breasts," Narcissa commented indicating Hermione's still exposed chest.

Bellatrix eyed her sister suspiciously, Narcissa reached over and took Bellatrix's free hand and rubbed it over Hermione's breast. After a moment Bellatrix didn't need Narcissa's help as she was grinding on Hermione's legs while she squeezed and pinched Hermione's nipple. Narcissa smiled at Bellatrix and leaned over, kissing her deeply in a manner that no sister's should ever kiss. Hermione lay there stunned not sure what to do and so she did nothing.

Narcissa pulled away from Bellatrix and the raven haired witch leant down and licked the cut on Hermione's face before forcing her lips against the younger witches. Now Hermione did struggle, this was too much for her; she was struggling to breathe as panic overwhelmed her. Due to her panic Hermione did not even register that Narcissa had moved until she spoke from somewhere around her feet.

"Bellatrix you are soaked, is she fighting?" Narcissa said.

Bellatrix was moving on top of Hermione like she was being fucked from behind, grunting with each thrust, as she bit down on Hermione's lower lip hard enough to split it. Hermione opened her mouth to scream and Bellatrix pulled back grinning enjoying the scream, she leant in and bit Hermione's face and neck in a torturous way as the thrusts became harder and closer together. Hermione screamed and screamed as Bellatrix used her teeth to blemish every piece of skin she could get to, until she felt something by her hand, a wand? She grabbed at it as Bellatrix leant over and sank her teeth into her shoulder, Hermione let out a scream and turned her head away from Bellatrix and caught sight of Fleur. She froze as she threw a pleading look at Fleur, who tried to encourage her.

For Hermione, just seeing Fleur was enough for her to master her fear for a moment, she knew what was required of her. Hermione flicked the wand and wordlessly cast 'legilmens', she was exhausted and frantically began searching for the darkness, but Bellatrix's mind was all dark. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore what was happening on top of her body, focusing on her own darkness she let it guide her to it's counterpart within Bellatrix. She found it just as Bellatrix reached her orgasm and cast the darkness out. Bellatrix collapsed on top of her and the dark mass hung just above them both, Hermione could hear a scream and it took her a few moments to realise it was her own scream, then suddenly the darkness was gone and the room fell silent but for Bellatrix's panting.

Hermione began to laugh despite the rawness of her throat, a sort of maniacal laugh spurned on by hysteria. Bellatrix sat up and looked at Hermione, "What's so funny Muddy?" she asked, confused.

"She's going to kill you now you crazy bitch." Hermione said pointing at a very angry Fleur.

Bellatrix simultaneously got to her feet and spun around. Released, Hermione crawled as far from the lunatic as she could get, curled up in a ball and began to cry. Fleur stood with her wand in Bellatrix's throat, holding her still by a handful of her hair, Narcissa was cleaning her hand off on her dress as though her sister was not about to be murdered in front of her. Fleur looked to Narcissa who had summoned a blanket and was heading over to Hermione with it but as she got closer, a very distressed Hermione inched away.

"Cissy, save me?" Bellatrix asked.

Narcissa stopped trying to get to Hermione and turned to Bellatrix, "Bellatrix my dear sister, why would I save you? It's one thing when your psychotic ways affect me but today you put my son in danger and you were going to force him to rape this girl when you know very well he is gay. You shall not torture my son or me again." Narcissa said and she lifted her gaze to Fleur, nodding once.

Bellatrix had a second or two to comprehend what her sister had said to her before Fleur lost her inner battle and feathers burst from her skin, the room was filled with a loud screech as the Veela emerged enraged. Fleur's wand was dropped to the floor as what was once Fleur's hand grabbed Bellatrix's throat and ripped it out. Bloody talons continued to rip at Bellatrix's chest as screeches of rage echoed around the banquet hall.

Dobby the house elf took the blanket from Narcissa as the Veela was clearly deciding whether or not to carry out the same vengeance on the blonde haired Malfoy witch. Dobby made a soothing sound as he approached Hermione and covered her with the blanket and waited for Fleur to return so that he could take Hermione out of this place.

"If you were going to kill me you would have done it by now." Narcissa told the Veela, "look I owe you both first for releasing me from the Dark Lord's hold and now for releasing me from my sisters grasp, I am very clear on that."

Fleur considered this and even repeated it to herself inside her head as she was trying to push the Veela back down and regain control. The Veela physically turned and walked away from Narcissa, the Slytherin exhaled with relief and gave Fleur a semblance of privacy by turning her back to her so that she could change back.

Narcissa considered Hermione, curled up on the floor shaking with fear, she decided that she had her own family to take care of and walked out the door. Fleur quietly and slowly walked over to Dobby and Hermione, blue eyes filling with tears at the bloodied and beaten sight before her.

"Shh ma petite loutre," she said soothingly and Hermione's eyes snapped up to the direction that the voice had come from, they had lost their normal sparkle. Fleur smiled at her reassuringly but Hermione's eyes were empty as they stared on. She did not flinch and Fleur pulled her into her arms, "Mr Dobby, 'ogwarts infirmary if you please," she told the house elf who nodded, reached out taking a hold of Fleur's arm and apparated them away.

**AN 2: Harry, Ron and Hermione are captured by snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. Dobby helps Harry and Ron escape to Hogwarts but Hermione is left with Bellatrix. With some help from Narcissa the Whorecrux within Bellatrix has been destroyed. Hermione was tortured by Bellatrix and is covered in wounds. Fleur rescued her; the Veela came out and murdered Bellatrix in the process. Dobby has taken them to the infirmary at Hogwarts.**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN 1 Thank you to all the reviewers you are awesome – though special shout out to Fay whose review had Otter and I in great fits of giggles at her spectacular renaming of Bellatrix!**

**AN2 This update is long overdue (you can blame Otter if you need someone to point the finger at) for that you have our apologies. **

**AN3 (Im almost done then I'll shut up so you can read!) I (wetsoks) used a little bit of artistic license since this is AU anyway and have made Gabrielle the oldest Delacour sister. If this is just too much for you to cope with then let's say there was a time turner accident that caused her to age quicker than Fleur on account of all the time travelling she did (Im sensing there might be a side fic coming – Otter hates that LOL) Anyway warnings are as follows: emotional!Chapter so grab some tissues and Badass!Gabrielle – I hope you like her.**

Chapter 31 – A Time to Heal

Fleur softly stroked Hermione's head while quickly taking in her surroundings. "I am 'ere, ma belle," she whispered.

Dobby looked frantically around and then ran towards the office where Madam Pomfrey usually was.

Fleur gently eased herself out from under Hermione, who so far had not responded to anything that Fleur was saying. Fleur slipped her wand into her hand and subtly cast the featherweight spell, then lifted her lover gently onto the bed. As Hermione landed, blood poured from her nose and mouth. Panicking, Fleur turned to call for help. She took a step away from Hermione and as she did so a keening noise began to rise in Hermione's throat. Fleur turned to see Hermione's eyes wide with fear, she was breathing fast and reaching out blindly.

Fleur turned back to Hermione, stepped forward and sank to her knees. The keening noise stopped as Fleur took Hermione's hand and raised it to her lips, gently kissing it. Hermione stared forwards, not looking at anything, not seeing anything... but remembering everything.

"Oh, my dear!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she saw Hermione laying there. She rushed towards the couple but Hermione panicked and pushed herself away pulling her legs up protectively.

"Pas d'arrêt," Fleur shouted then realising her mistake, corrected herself quickly. "Stop, madam, please."

Madam Pomfrey stopped in bewilderment. "Hermione needs help!" she exclaimed as she waved a hand in Hermione's direction and the witch in question whimpered.

Fleur stood and put herself between Hermione and Madam Pomfrey. "Oui, she does but she was attacked." Fleur said as she was careful to keep herself between the older witch and her paramour.

Understanding spread throughout Madam Pomfrey's features as she cast her eyes over Hermione and her heart sank as the injuries told her a story quickly enough. Madam Pomfrey nodded at Fleur. "I need to see the wounds," the nurse said softly. Fleur nodded her understanding and slowly walked around the other side of the bunk Hermione was now hiding behind.

Fleur slowly sat on the edge of the bed about five feet away from Hermione, she washed her face with her hands, trying to dispel the tension she felt and looked at Hermione, her eyes staring blankly ahead though it was now apparent at least, that she was seeing the things that were happening around her. Fleur thought that her heart would break as she examined her paramour. She felt the tears falling from her eyes and she lifted her hands again to wipe her face as though this action might wipe away the memory of what she saw the Black sisters doing.

Fleur was snapped back to reality by the infirmary doors opening loudly, but she did not take her eyes from Hermione as she desperately tried to communicate to her that she was safe and she, Fleur, would protect her. Fleur finally took her eyes from Hermione when she heard footsteps approaching, but only long enough to recognise Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall being halted by Madam Pomfrey. Fleur turned back to Hermione and fought down the urge to go to her. She knew that Hermione had to come to her, had to trust enough even after everything that had just happened.

"Ma petite," she whispered and she reached her hand out towards Hermione. "Come 'ere, ma belle?" she asked. Hermione looked over at the proffered hand and whimpered until the keening noise began again.

Fleur sighed and turned to the three witches. "Would you give us some space please?" she asked. Madam Pomfrey pulled the other two away in a hush of whispers and Fleur turned back to Hermione. "Ma petite loutre, please come to me?" she begged.

The keening noise stopped and a shaky hand rose in Fleur's direction. Fleur sighed with relief as she took the hand and helped Hermione move towards her. At first it was slow but suddenly Hermione threw herself at Fleur, sobbing with broken abandon. Fleur held her, rocking and whispering soft reassurances.

Finally the sobbing stopped and in silence Fleur helped Hermione to her feet, Fleur stood as well, tenderly sweeping hair from Hermione's face and lightly touching her bruised face with her lips. She turned and signalled to the three witches to come closer but as they did so Hermione stiffened.

"You are safe ma belle, I will not let zem 'urt you, we want to 'elp you," she reassured her and Hermione relaxed a little but huddled close to Fleur shaking. Fleur held her for a moment soothing her, "ma petite loutre, I am going to take your shirt and jeans off so zat we can 'eal you." She whispered tenderly and waited.

Hermione nodded and with shaky hands tried to unbutton her shirt. Fleur felt a tear escape as she reached up and helped Hermione unfasten the buttons on the shirt and then very gently pulled the shirt from her. A sob escaped Hermione's lips as she felt Fleur's hands fumbling with the button of her jeans. "I'm sorry Fleur, I'm so sorry," Hermione sobbed.

Fleur pulled Hermione into her arms and stroked her hair, "Non, non, 'ermione, not sorry. Ma petite, non," Fleur told her.

"I-I-I thought could," Hermione started. "I'm sorry," she tried again.

Fleur took Hermione's face in her hands and pulled her gently so she could look in her eyes. "Zis is not your fault 'Ermione, et iz Bellatrix's, et is Voldemort's but et iz not yours ma petite, never yours." Fleur gently held Hermione's face, using her thumb to wipe her tears away. Hermione lowered her gaze from Fleur's but nodded, Fleur could not expect any better than that at the moment, so she accepted it, she pulled Hermione towards her and softly kissed her lips, then rested her forehead against Hermione's.

Fleur carefully slipped Hermione's jeans over her hips, careful to leave her panties in place. Hermione winced at the movement, Fleur looked at her leg and saw deep purple bruising all the way down her left side from her rib cage down to her knee, and Fleur swallowed bile as she took in the many other bites, scratches and bruises that littered Hermione's skin.

Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat causing Hermione to cling to Fleur. "Shh ma belle, lay on ze bed and let Madam Pomfrey tend to your wounds." Fleur said. Hermione blushed and shuffled to the bed and with Fleur's help got laid down upon it.

Professor McGonagall gasped at the sight of her Gryffindor looking so battered but Madam Pomfrey had her wand out and got to work. "Rolanda, some dreamless sleep potion," Madam Pomfrey said briskly as she began healing the wounds on Hermione. Her eyes were over bright, despite her tone.

Fleur squeezed Hermione's hand to reassure her as Madam Hooch slowly approached with the potion, looking more serious than Fleur had thought it possible for the flying instructor to be. Fleur took it from Hooch and helped Hermione drink. As she lay back down Hermione stared at Fleur, tears slipped from her eyes as she tried to fight the potion. Fleur smiled at her as she rubbed her thumb against her lover's hand as she fought back tears.

Hermione's arm went slack as the potion did its job and only then did Fleur release her tears, Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch were at her side in a heartbeat, as Hooch pulled Fleur into her arms and Minerva rubbed her back. Fleur was quick to compose herself as she turned back to watch Madam Pomfrey work,

"Madam Pomfrey, I see you are 'ealing ze bruises but ze cuts zey are not 'ealing?" Fleur asked.

"Dark magic," Madam Pomfrey answered sombrely.

Fleur got up and started pacing, suddenly finding herself unable to sit still. "'Arry and Ron?" she asked suddenly as she looked at Professor McGonagall.

"They are safe, dear, I have checked on them," Professor McGonagall answered reassuringly. Fleur nodded and sank back to her seat; she was fraught with worry about Hermione. "Fleur you should get some rest," Professor McGonagall suggested.

Fleur shot to her feet and glared at McGonagall, "I cannot leave 'er, if she wakes and I am not 'ere zen Merlin knows what she will do." Fleur stepped up to Professor McGonagall, "You put ze fate of ze wizarding world on 'er shoulders and she tried to take on Bellatrix Lestrange by 'erself! Thank ze stars zat Narcissa 'elped 'er it probably saved 'er from a rape, but look at 'er. She is young! Did you or Dumbledore even zink about zat when you put zis burden on 'er?" Fleur cast an accusatory glance at Professor McGonagall.

McGonagall opened her mouth and then closed it again but it was Hooch that spoke. "Now Fleur, I am going to give you a pass on that one because of what you have seen and done today and because of her," Hooch pointed at Hermione, "But you watch your mouth when you speak to Professor McGonagall, because she covers your arse six ways from Sunday and she loves that girl like a daughter. Do not think for a minute that this situation is acceptable for anyone in this room but so help me I will not let you speak to her like that." Hooch had a finger pointed at Fleur.

"Thank you Rolanda," Professor McGonagall said as she calmly pushed Hooch's hand down. Professor McGonagall stepped up to Fleur and placed a hand on her face lovingly, "I am sorry."

"Non, I am sorry," Fleur said, a flush of shame creeping onto her cheeks. "I was out of line."

McGonagall smiled tenderly and then took Rolanda's hand, "We all have our own mandrakes to re-pot," she told Fleur as she walked out of the infirmary.

Just outside of the doors McGonagall leaned over and kissed Hooch on the cheek. "Rolanda, I am so hot for you right now." Hooch brightened considerably. The day was already looking up.

Back inside the infirmary Hermione let out a whimper in her sleep and Fleur eased herself onto the bed taking Hermione into her arms. She held her lover and wept for the pain she had endured, pain that she could not stop. Fleur closed her eyes and gently whispered promises of love and safety to Hermione, she knew that she could not hear her but she also knew that the sound of her voice was soothing.

Fleur's foot bobbed in the air as she sat by Hermione's bed, legs crossed as she watched over the only thing that mattered to her in the world. She had maintained this post through three nights and two days as Hermione slept, thanks to dreamless sleep potion. Fleur was hyper alert to any sound or movement from Hermione, but she was also exhausted and knew that she could not maintain this vigil much longer. That angered her, and also the Veela within. She swallowed hard as she felt the beast arise again; feeling her body start to shake, and closing her eyes she forced the beast back down.

Fleur's mistake had been losing control of her emotions. She got up from her seat and began to pace, the image of Narcissa screwing her sister on top of Hermione flashed into her mind, it may as well have been rape, she swallowed again. She could feel feathers under her skin, bristling. Reaching a hand up to scratch the back of the neck, she knew it was fruitless. The itch was the feathers. She could rub until she was raw and it wouldn't appease the urge. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming herself as she soothed the beast.

"Ma belle soeur, you have better control than zis," a calm soft voice spoke behind Fleur.

Fleur spun around, tears in her eyes. "Gabrielle?" she gasped, not daring to hope.

Gabrielle approached Fleur and pulled her sister into her arms. "Ma belle, I came as soon as I 'eard," she whispered as she tenderly caressed her sister.

Fleur took comfort in Gabrielle's presence and soft touches for a moment but stole frequent glances at Hermione. Gabrielle turned and considered the recuperating witch for a moment, then turned back to Fleur, smiling.

"Ma belle she is very beautiful." Gabrielle told her sister.

Fleur stepped away from her sister and reached out to gently caress Hermione's head, combing her hair from her face. "Oui, she is my world," she told her sister without taking her eyes from Hermione. "She is my world and I almost lost 'er," she said, her voice shaking as the beast rose once more.

Gabrielle stepped over to her sister, placing her hand on her Fleur's shoulder, closing her eyes she began to mutter under her breath. Moments later she took her hand away and looked at her now much calmer sister and smiled. Fleur turned grateful eyes onto her sister and raised a hand to cup Gabrielle's face; words failed her as she comprehended what her sibling had done to help her. The transference of magical power, while easier for the Veela than other magical beings, was one of the greatest gifts that one could give to another.

"J'adore," Fleur whispered to her sister and the words fell from her mouth so easily.

Gabrielle smiled at Fleur, "bien entendu," she answered and it was natural that Fleur would adore her sister. "Now, do not argue wiz me Fleur, get into zat bed and rest, I will watch over you and your bond mate." Gabrielle was resolute in her command, as much was evident in her firm stance.

Fleur opened her mouth to protest, but Gabrielle raised her eyebrow, and Fleur closed her mouth again and crawled into bed behind Hermione. The brunette witch whimpered and snuggled against Fleur and then sighed as she resumed her potion induced slumber. Gabrielle smiled at the two, she had wanted her sister to be happy and while she was devastated when she had heard that Hermione had been hurt, she had walked straight out of her job, she didn't stop until she arrived at Hogwarts. She smiled as Professor McGonagall greeted her at the front door; the Headmistress was being harassed by owls from the French Ministry, no doubt wondering where their head auror was.

Gabrielle smirked at the thought of the French ministry looking for her, she had never skipped out on her duty, she knew how important it was to keep things running, to keep order. She walked across the infirmary and pulled a privacy screen to shield the bed from prying eyes and then spread a blanket over her sister and her mate. Gabby picked up a chair and carried it to the edge of the privacy screen. She sat in the seat and put her booted feet up on the empty bed beside where her sister and mate were recovering and cast her eyes across the infirmary, then she released her thrall into the room, it spread like smoke across the room and she knew every spider that moved on the walls, every owl that flew past the window and every witch and wizard that came close to the infirmary doors. Gabrielle nodded satisfied that her sister was safe and resting and reached down into the pocket of her combats and pulled out her Swiss army knife and began cleaning her well manicured nails with it.

Some hours later Gabrielle cast her eyes over at the two witches in the bed, she was startled to note that Hermione's eyes were wide open and watching her. Gabrielle froze. Internally she laughed; in her job as an auror she had faced groups of evil wizards but now she was afraid of upsetting this fragile creature snuggled next to her sister. Slowly Gabrielle put her knife in her pocket, got up and walked to the chair by the bed, she sat down and smiled at Hermione.

"'ello 'ermione," she said quietly. Hermione focused her eyes on Gabrielle and smiled a little, nodding her head.

"Hi" she said quietly, she recognised Gabrielle from pictures that Fleur had shown her, but also because of her eyes, "Thank you," she said as tears welled in her eyes. Hermione knew why Gabrielle was here, she knew that the youngest witch to head up the French Auror department did not come here easily, but she knew why she would come.

Gabrielle smiled, she knew that the witch was smart, "You are welcome," she told Hermione and then she got up and walked back to the other chair and resumed her sentry duty. Hermione turned in the bed to face Fleur and rested her head against her, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

A week later Gabrielle and Fleur were in Fleur's quarters, sitting on the couch talking. Gabrielle was planning on leaving in a few days, she had already missed a week of work, she was receiving owls from the ministry every few hours. Gabrielle was loathe to leave her sisters, but happy that they were safe and that Hermione was on the way to getting better.

They stopped talking, both sensitive to any sound that might come from the bedroom; they both turned their heads in the direction of the bedroom. At the sound of a second whimper, Fleur was on her feet and Gabrielle had her wand in one hand and a knife in the other. Fleur went into the bedroom and hurriedly made her way over to the bed; Gabrielle waited in the doorway and watched as her sister, tenderly brought Hermione into her arms and as gently as she could pulled her from her nightmare.

Even from the doorway Gabrielle could see the sheen of sweat covering Hermione, but more upsetting than that was the stench of fear rolling off of her. Gabby slipped the knife and the wand back to where they were supposed to be and she too walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and reached out softly caressing the back of Hermione's head, her heart broke for Hermione and her sister. She was glad that Fleur had killed Bellatrix Lestrange, if she had not then she herself would have hunted the bitch down and killed her.

Hermione calmed in Fleur's arms and Gabrielle moved to get up, but she felt a hand close around her own, she looked down to find it was Hermione, she smiled and turned to face her. The three witches lay on the bed tenderly comforting each other for a moment until Hermione composed herself. Fleur tenderly stroked Hermione's face and Hermione shirked away from the touch.

"Ma belle," Fleur said. "You are beautiful. Zese scars do not make that any less true."

Hermione didn't believe it, but Fleur was going to continue to tell her until she did.

"It may be because she is my sister, but I agree, I zink you look a bit more adventurous, some may even say devil may care, but you are definitely still ze most beautiful woman I ever saw." Gabrielle reaffirmed.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled, "You two tell tall tales." She told them. They were both happy to see her smile; they were both happy that she was calm and safe. They knew that the emotional wounds would take longer to heal.

Hermione was the first to crawl off the bed heading to the bathroom, while she was gone, Fleur and Gabrielle sat up and looked at each other.

"Fleur I swear on Maman and Papa's graves if you let 'er get 'urt again I will beat you myself." Gabrielle told her sister.

Fleur nodded, "I know Gabby, ma belle, I know." But the words covered the worry.

She and Hermione had a mission to complete and thanks to Narcissa Malfoy owling a certain Hufflepuff cup to Harry and Ron, there were only three Horcruxes left; the Ravenclaw Diadem, the snake and Harry. McGonagall had already been to say that Death Eaters had been spotted in high numbers in Hogsmeade and it would not be long before the castle was under siege.

Worry and fear fleeted across Fleur's face, Gabrielle do not miss the emotions, "Fleur you take care of this fantôme Whorecrux, I will 'elp you, we need to keep 'Ermione out of zis." Gabby warned.

Fleur nodded her understanding, "Stay 'ere wiz 'er, I need to go fetch somezing." She told her sister.

Gabrielle agreed and Fleur left without saying anything to Hermione, knowing that this would be best handled quickly.

When Hermione left the bathroom and saw only Gabrielle sitting on the bed she knew instantly that something was wrong.

Gabrielle got to her feet and walked over to Hermione. "Eet is okay, mon cher, she will be back."

Hermione nodded but was not happy, her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to understand what was so important to Fleur that she would leave her. Beyond the door of the quarters the castle was preparing to do battle. Voldemort's voice rang through the castle. Everything was coming to a head. Realisation dawned on Hermione very quickly and she walked towards the door.

"Mon Cher, please stay 'ere wiz me," Gabrielle said in exasperation as she followed Hermione.

"No Gabby, I cannot sit here, now where is she?" Hermione asked.

Gabrielle shrugged, she truly did not know. Hermione threw the door to the quarters open, and stepped out. She had no idea where Fleur had gone but she walked in the direction of the dungeons, figuring she may as well start at the bottom and work her way up. As she walked past a window Hermione noticed the wards outside in the grounds were glowing, a sign that they were being reinforced. It was pretty and she stepped into one of the courtyards to get a better view at what exactly the side of light might be facing.

Hermione walked around the courtyard and tripped over something, she managed to stay on her feet, but looked down at what had tripped her. Horror drained the blood from her face and she stumbled backwards a little. Gabrielle caught her in her arms but she too was stricken by what Hermione had tripped over.

Hermione started sobbing, and Gabrielle held her close, there was nothing to say so Gabrielle just held Hermione and stared down at the dead body of her sister.

Hermione stared at Fleur as she sobbed, her lifeless eyes staring back vacantly and as Gabrielle held her close Hermione thought that her world had just come to an end as she felt her heart tearing apart.

**AN4 You may find this hard to believe but I actually hate cliff-hangers...**


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